The Financial Times reports that Gerard Kleisterlee, chief executive of Dutch electronics company Philips, is the preferred candidate to become chairman of Vodafone Group when John Bond stands down, having drawn up a shortlist of three candidates for the role. It is anticipated that Kleisterlee, who will stand down as head of Philips at the end of March 2011 after ten years at the helm, will initially join Vodafone as a non-executive director, before moving into the chairman’s seat at the next Vodafone annual general meeting.