Vodafone New Zealand chief marketing officer Mark Rushworth has surprised colleagues by announcing his resignation.

“He came back from Christmas after surfing and growing a beard and announced he was leaving,” an insider told NBR.

As first reported by NBR, Vodafone New Zealand chief executive Russell Stanners has taken direct control of the telco’s marketing team while the search is on for a replacement.

Twenty-four little hours will give Vodafone bragging rights. The telco says it will have 3G mobile coverage for 97% of the population on May 31, putting it at least one day ahead of Telecom’s “T-Day" launch.

Today, Vodafone’s 3G network covers 70% of the population.

In July last year, the telco said it would offer full coverage by April 2010.

Now, with Telecom spending up large to get its new 3G network ready for its T-Day launch (due on an unspecified day in June), Vodafone has accelerated its schedule to a May 31 launch.