Robert Samuelson, co-founder and COO of UK investment manager Zegona Communications, parent company of Vodafone Spain, died unexpectedly on Monday, as confirmed by the company in a statement sent to the London Stock Exchange. Continue reading.
El líder del grupo propietario de Vodafone España falleció de manera inesperada.
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Robert Samuelson, co-founder and COO of the British investment manager Zegona Communications, parent company of Vodafone Spain, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, as confirmed by the company in a statement sent to the London Stock Exchange. The British firm officially informed the British stock market on Tuesday of the executive’s demise, stating that the director, born in 2015, passed away peacefully but unexpectedly. A decade ago, Samuelson co-founded the entity with the current president and chief executive officer of the group, Eamonn O’Hare, who he also shared a board trajectory with at Virgin Media, the British telecommunications company. In terms of share ownership, Samuelson was the second largest individual shareholder of Zegona, controlling 7.38% of the social capital of the financial vehicle, which owns 100% of Vodafone Spain. In addition to the 15.62% held by Eamonn O’Hare, both co-founders jointly owned 23% of the company’s shares. Thanks to Zegona’s explosive stock revaluation following the acquisition of Vodafone Spain in 2014, the executive ranked as the second largest beneficiary of the incentive plan, behind O’Hare. According to the official financial statements for the fiscal year ended in March 2026, Samuelson held rights to this bonus valued at €144.4 million, a figure linked to the creation of value for shareholders whose actual realization was dependent on the group’s program and generally expected from October 2027. This variable compensation was added to a fixed compensation of 1.35 million euros received in the last fiscal year. The executive president of Zegona, Eamonn O’Hare, expressed his deep regret after the death of whom he qualified as his co-founder, a trusted colleague, and a dear friend. Como representante de Zegona y Vodafone España, el líder ejecutivo expresó su conmiso a la familia y resaltó que ambos iniciaron el proyecto de la empresa sobre una idea básica, destacando la contribución de Samuelson en la creación del grupo y el impacto de su trabajo en la estructura actual del negocio. Samuelson tenía una licenciatura en Ciencias Naturales por la Universidad de Cambridge y posposición en Administración de Empresas (MBA) por la Cranfield School of Management. Their early professional years were spent in the field of engineering and production management for British defense and technology companies such as British Aerospace and Royal Ordnance. Subsequently, between 1990 and 2000, they served as a director in the area of corporate finance advisory at the consulting firm Arthur D. Little. In the year 2000, he joined Virgin Management Limited and served as the Executive Director of Telecommunications and Media until 2011. From 2011 to 2014, the executive served as the Executive Director of Strategy at Virgin Media.
