The sudden departure of a chief executive usually sparks one question - did they jump or were they pushed? - followed by speculation over their likely successor.
In the case of Arun Sarin, Vodafone's future former CEO, the succession is nailed down with deputy Vittorio Colao already named as his replacement. City insiders gossip this adds weight to rumours Sarin is not departing entirely under his own steam.
Today's healthy full-year results showed that Sarin's strategy - of chasing growth in emerging sectors like India while cutting costs in mature markets like Europe - is working, though, so why would he leave?
In truth, Sarin has long looked like a man in search of a successor. Appointed in 2003, he nearly got hoofed out three years later when investors revolted over a lacklustre share price and massive losses. Three months after that stormy annual general meeting in 2006, up pops Colao to run Vodafone's European arm.
Colao had already been an internal Vodafone candidate to succeed Chris Gent in 2003, but after losing out to Sarin he quit to run an Italian media firm (and fell out with its shareholders).
So has the champagne for Sarin's leaving party been on ice ever since that fateful AGM? David Buik, a long-standing business commentator, thinks it's a real possibility that Sarin's exit was, as he put it, "orchestrated" by the chairman, Sir John Bond.
"How much influence has been brought to bear by the hard-nosed Bond and his protege Mr Colao? Many believe it was considerable influence," said Buik today.
But one man's ruthless purge is another's seamless succession planning. If Sarin had hung on until the clocks went back then the speculation over his departure would have been a distraction. Quit without a replacement and you face months of rumours and the potential of a bungled appointment. This may be one mission that Bond completed faultlessly.
And what about the users? Frankly it's doubtful if Vodafone's 18 million UK customers will notice much difference. As European chief exec, Colao was tough on costs and pretty good at getting new services launched, so expect more of the same.
