New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS): The board of Vodafone India Thursday announced that Marten Pieters will be standing down as managing director and chief executive of the company with effect from April 1 next and will be succeeded by chief operating officer Sunil Sood.

"Marten has been a fantastic leader in India and a wise and trusted contributor across the Group as a whole. He will stand down from his role as Chief Executive with warm thanks from everyone in Vodafone. I look forward to working with Sunil to build on the successes of a business widely admired in India and internationally," Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said in a statement here.

After that date, Pieters will continue to remain on the board of Vodafone India in a non-executive capacity. He was appointed managing director and chief executive of the company in February 2009, the company statement added.

Sood joined Vodafone India's predecessor business, Hutch, in 2000 and has held roles leading the company's operations in Gujarat, Kolkata and Chennai. He had previously worked for Pepsi in a range of Indian and international leadership roles.

Sood's successor as Chief Operating Officer will be announced in due course, the company stated.