Bharti

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises. Founded in 1976, Bharti is one of India’s foremost first-generation corporations with interests in Telecom, Space Communications, Digital Infrastructure, Financial Services, Real Estate and Hospitality. The Enterprise has joint ventures with several global partners like SingTel, the UK and French Governments, amongst others.

Bharti Airtel, the flagship venture of Bharti Enterprises, is a global telecommunications company with operations in 15 countries across India and Africa and ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally. One of India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider, Airtel is also the second-largest mobile operator in Sub-Saharan Africa. With a presence in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through its associate entities, this global company serves more than half a billion customers.

Sunil is also the Co-Chairman of Eutelsat, a global leader in satellite communications and a Director on the Board of BT Group Plc, the UK’s leading fixed and mobile communications provider.

In recognition of his contribution to business and economy, Sunil has been with the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors, awarded to individuals for demonstrating distinguished services. He has been conferred as an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) making him the first Indian citizen to receive this recognition from HM King Charles III.

Sunil has received the GSM Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award—a rare honour reserved for individuals with extraordinary and enduring contributions to the global mobile ecosystem, in addition to the GSM Association’s prestigious Chairman’s Award. A member on Harvard University’s Global Advisory Council, and a recipient of Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award, he has also been conferred Honorary Doctorates by several leading universities in India, UK and Europe.

Sunil has served as the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce and the Chairman of GSM Association concurrently from 2016 - 2018. He has been a Trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 2009 - 2021. Through India’s G20 Presidency in 2023, Sunil steered the B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration as its Chair. Currently, he is a Commissioner at the International Telecommunication Union/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council. Sunil also serves on the Global Board of Advisors at the Council on Foreign Relations, and as a Member on Hakluyt’s International Advisory Board. In the past, he has served on the boards of several multinational companies including Unilever PLC, Standard Chartered Bank PLC and SoftBank Corp.

Sunil is closely associated with spearheading the Indian industry’s global trade and investments initiatives. He has served on the Prime Minister of India’s Council on Trade and Industry and was also President of the Confederation of Indian Industry from 2007-2008. He is Co-Chair of the India-UK CEO Forum as well as the India-Africa Business Council. He has been contributing to India’s global business priorities in his roles as Co-Anchor of the ICT, Emerging Technologies & Digital Infrastructure Working Group of the India-US CEO Forum; as a Principal at the World Bank Group’s Private Sector Investment Lab; and as a member on the India-Japan and India-Sweden CEO Forums.

Sunil believes that a responsible corporate has a duty to give back meaningfully to the community. This belief has resulted in the Bharti Airtel Foundation, which currently runs 155 Satya Bharti Schools and supports over 1,000 government schools under its Quality Support Program to ensure equity in access to holistic, excellent education. As Chairman of the Foundation, he has further embedded this vision through the Foundation’s various initiatives to make world-class higher education available to meritorious young scholars across India and Africa.