Gopal Vittal, Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, gets additional responsibility of being the Vice Chairman of the company
In a new development, Gopal Vittal, in addition to being the Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, is being appointed the Vice Chairman of the company. He will take on broader telecom responsibilities across the group. In addition, Vittal would be responsible for driving group synergies in select areas such as Network strategy, digital & technology, procurement and talent. He would also on the Board of Airtel Africa Plc as the Bharti nominee director to provide strategic guidance.
“Bharti Airtel has had a distinguished record of well thought out structured succession planning. I’m extremely pleased with the succession and transition plan of leadership at Airtel and there could not have been a better time for Airtel to unveil the new arrangement where change and continuity will go hand in hand,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bhart Airtel Ltd.
Gopal Vittal has led Bharti Airtel as Managing Director & CEO for the last twelve years. In this period, Airtel has built a winning portfolio of businesses across mobile, B2B, Home Broadband, DTH and digital services. Even in mobile, an intensely competitive space, Airtel has seen its revenue market share grow from 30 percent to 40 percent.
In addition to strong business performance, Airtel has built a resilient organization, with best-in-class talent, world class digital capabilities, tech enablement and a strong set of values. Customer obsession and digital capabilities embedded in its talent pool secures its future. The capital markets acknowledge this with a five-fold increase in the market capitalization of the company to well over $100 Billion.
On January 1, 2026, Gopal will move into the role of Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel. While, Shashwat Sharma currently Chief Operation Officer, will be appointed MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel on January 1, 2026. In preparation for this role, he is being appointed CEO designate of the Company. As the CEO designate, Shashwat will be responsible for the entire end-to-end consumer business. Gopal will be responsible for mentoring and grooming Shashwat to take over as MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel.
Qaisar
