Vodafone Group lined up the head of its Portuguese business Mario Vaz as the new CEO for its Spain business from 1 April, replacing Colman Deegan who announced plans to step down in January.

The operator cited Vaz’ success overseeing Vodafone Portugal’s transition from a pure mobile operator into a provider of converged services as a factor in its decision, stating the executive also occupied various positions within the unit over the past 30 years.

Vaz showed little concern about taking over a Spanish business beset by tough competition and subject to various rounds of staff cuts, highlighting strength in the brand’s reputation and a pioneering approach to “technological and service innovations”.

Vodafone’s statement hinted at a potential strategy for Vaz in Spain, as it highlighted his work overseeing fibre deployment in Portugal which brought coverage for its fixed-mobile package to 4.3 million homes.

There is also an element of stability for the group’s overall reporting structure as Vaz will continue to report to Serpil Timuray, CEO of its European Cluster which the Spanish business was bundled into when Deegan detailed his departure.

Vodafone Portugal named Luis Lopes as Vaz’ replacement.

The executive counts spells with companies including Procter and Gamble and McKinsey & Co among his experiences, and was most recently director for fibre and partnerships with Vodafone Germany.