Bharti Airtel names COO Shashwat Sharma as next MD & CEO

Gopal Vittal will move into the role of Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd

by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 28, 2024 5:00 PM | 2 min read

Shashwat Sharma will take over as the MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel Ltd on January 1, 2026. Current MD & CEO Gopal Vittal will move into the role of Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd. Shashwat Sharma, who is currently the Chief Operation Officer, will is for now being appointed CEO designate of the company.

"In preparation for this role, Sharma 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 Vittal will be responsible for mentoring and grooming Shashwat to take over as MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel Ltd," said the telecom firm.

Vittal has led Bharti Airtel as Managing Director & CEO for the last 12 years.

"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% to 40%. 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 capitalisation of the company to well over $100 billion," said the company in a regulatory filing.