Matthew Kirk joined Vodafone in 2006 and was appointed Group External Affairs Director of Vodafone, and a member of the Executive Committee, with effect from 1 March 2009. Before that, he was a member of the British Diplomatic Service for more than twenty years, with diplomatic postings in New York (UN), Belgrade, Gibraltar and Paris, and a number of positions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Cabinet Office in London. Matthew led the FCO's programme in investment in IT and telecommunications for three years, and prior to joining Vodafone served as Her Majesty's Ambassador to Finland. Matthew graduated (MA) from St John's College, Oxford, and holds the Diplôme International d'Administration Publique from the École Nationale d'Administration, Paris. He is married, with two children.