Vodafone New Zealand is pleased to confirm John Boniciolli has taken on the role of Chief Financial Officer on a permanent basis, following three months in an acting capacity. The announcement comes at a time when the massive impact of COVID-19 on the New Zealand economy and on New Zealanders means strong financial leadership is ever-more important.

Boniciolli joins Vodafone following 20 years at Telstra in Australia, where he was most recently Deputy Chief Financial Officer.

Vodafone CEO Jason Paris says he has been incredibly impressed by John’s strategic and humanistic approach to the financial health of the business, which has been put to a test nobody could have foreseen over the past few months as the business has responded to rapidly changing global events.

“John’s depth of telco experience is clear and has been incredibly helpful over the past three months. He has applied both a strategic and forensic lens to the challenge, which, combined with his extensive industry knowledge, is going to be invaluable to us and to our customers as we navigate towards a new future with COVID-19.

“He has also proven to be a great people leader in how he has approached financial planning and forecasting – helping all other areas of the business adjust at pace to the radically different commercial landscape we all face, and always having the end customer and ongoing quality of earnings in mind.

“John’s experience and skills will become even more essential over the next 12-18 months, as we face the full impact of COVID-19 and focus on the immediate tough choices needed to ensure ongoing connectivity and the ability to invest in long-term network infrastructure for our customers and for New Zealand.”

Before joining Telstra in 2000, Boniciolli lived overseas in a range of countries and worked in industries spanning technology, property, financial services, professional services, and retail in Australia, South Africa, UK, Asia, Europe and North America.

“These are incredibly challenging times for everyone. I’ve really enjoyed applying my international knowledge to an awesome Kiwi business, and being part of the New Zealand telco scene, in helping to navigate this once in a lifetime challenge,” said Boniciolli. “As the business's financial champion, I’ll be ensuring we find the right balance to support our longer-term strategic objectives and ensure Vodafone remains sustainable for our customers, staff and shareholders.”

Boniciolli holds an MBA from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and is a Chartered Accountant. He’s been married for 25 years and is proud of their two amazing teenage sons.

Executive Search organisation, Hourigan International, led the global search for the position.