Bharti

Bharti Airtel Announces Senior Level organisational Changes

New Delhi, January 15, 2013: Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced senior level organisational changes that will be effective March 1, 2013.

After almost 15 years of illustrious innings at Bharti Group, Sanjay Kapoor, CEO – India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel, has decided to pursue his future aspirations outside of Bharti.

Sanjay joined Bharti Cellular Ltd as its COO in 1998 and soon took over as its CEO to develop Delhi Circle as the foundation stone of Airtel’s growth. Sanjay has held several leadership roles since and has been instrumental in shaping the growth of Airtel. As CEO - India & South Asia, he led key transformations including the launch of Airtel’s new global identity – giving it a fresh, youthful and vibrant face, realigning of the organisation from technology-facing to a customer-facing one for enhanced synergies, agility and customer elasticity. He played a key role in shaping the organisation from being a voice centric business to a mobile internet company, with forays into 3G, 4G, WiFi etc., the launch of “Airtel Business”, an enterprise brand, conceptualization and implementation of Airtel Money as a new strategic business, and the launch of Airtel’s first ever employer brand “Jobs never done before”.

Sanjay’s leadership has extended well beyond the confines of Airtel. As Chairman of COAI and an Executive Committee member of GSMA Board, he has elevated himself as an industry spokesperson globally.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel was effusive in his praise “Sanjay has had an enviable performance track record, strategic disposition, business acumen and is an inspirational leader. Not only has he provided strong leadership and strategic direction during the toughest macro economic and regulatory environment, but has grown our customer base to 200 Million, developed DTH business, driven fixed line and broadband businesses from voice to data, enhanced our footprint in Asia to include Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and retained mobile revenue market share at over 30%, maintaining a substantial lead over competitors in a hyper-competitive environment. I wish Sanjay all the very best in his future endeavors.”

Sanjay will continue his association with the Bharti Group and be on the Board of Indus Towers Ltd and Bharti Global Ltd. Sanjay will continue in his current role until 28th February 2013, and will be available to assist on key matters until March 31st 2013 ensuring a smooth transition process.

GopalVittal, who rejoined Airtel in April 2012 as Group Director - Special Projects, will take over as CEO – India, Bharti Airtel. He will report to the Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel.

Gopal has spent the past year across the Singtel Group in South Asia/Australia, Softbank and Silicon Valley understanding emerging trends in data and internet space. In his new role as the CEO - India, Gopal will be responsible for defining and delivering the business strategy and providing overall leadership for Airtel’s India operations. Key focus areas for Gopal would be enhancing market share and margins along with growth of alternate revenue streams including 3G, Data, Airtel Money and Value Added Services. Gopal will lead Airtel India towards strengthening its position as a benchmark in innovative practices, brand leadership, operational efficiency, customer experience and talent/leadership depth.

Commenting on the appointment Sunil Bharti Mittal, said, “I am delighted to announce the appointment of GopalVittal as CEO - India, Bharti Airtel. Gopal worked closely with me during his earlier stint as Director Marketing in Airtel. He has an outstanding track record at Unilever and brings with him a wealth of experience in assimilating the consumer mindset, managing operations efficiently, winning with the customer, building brand and innovating to secure market leadership. Gopal spent his last year understanding the new wave of mobile telephony, in particular the data space and data experience. This will be extremely relevant and valuable for the next phase of Airtel's growth. I wish him a successful and exciting journey ahead.”

GopalVittal has a long and illustrious career spanning over 20 years with Hindustan Unilever. In his last stint at HUL, Gopal was instrumental in leading the US$3.5 bn Home & Personal Care Division from years of uncompetitive growth to delivering exceptional market performance.

South Asia operations i.e. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would report into the CEO (International) effective 1st March 2013. However, various business leaders and functions from Airtel India would continue to support South Asia operations in this revised arrangement.

About Bharti Airtel:

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 260 million customers across its operations at the end of December 2012. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com