June 19 (Reuters) - Britain's Vodafone Group ( VOD )

named Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Pilar Lopez as its new finance chief

on Thursday to succeed Luka Mucic, who is leaving the group at

the end of November this year.

Lopez's formal appointment as chief financial officer will

start on December 1, 2025, the company said.

Lopez joins from Microsoft ( MSFT ), where she has served several

roles at the U.S. tech giant including chief operating officer

for Western Europe, and more recently leading Microsoft's ( MSFT )

partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group ( LDNXF ).

She also spent 16 years with Spanish telecoms group

Telefonica in various finance and senior leadership

roles before joining Microsoft ( MSFT ), Vodafone ( VOD ) said in a statement.

"She has deep-rooted knowledge of both the telecoms and

technology sectors, across a range of international leadership

positions," Vodafone ( VOD ) CEO Margherita Della Valle said.