Vodafone Group Plc had been poised to name the company's new Chief Executive Officer. Vodafone would name Aldo Bisio to be the new chief executive of the company's Italian unit. This was according to two people who were familiar with the matter.

Bision worked as the former chief executive officer of AristonThermo SpA. Also Bision would replace Paolo Bertoluzzo who would lead Vodafone's commercial operations as of today, said sources who asked not to be named as the appointment was held private in nature.

The 53 year old Bisio would be in charge of restricting a slide in the sales of the company in a country worst hit by the debt crisis. Vodafone had reported a GBP7.7 billion loss on its businesses in Spain and Italy in the fiscal year ended last March. The service revenue for the Italian unit of Vodafone slumped 13% during the year as sales were hit by price wars and a weakened economy in the country.

Bisio did not respond to calls seeking for comments regarding the reported appointment. A Vodafone spokeswoman also declined to give statements regarding the report.