Bharti Airtel Names COO Shashwat Sharma MD & CEO From January 2026

(The Corner Office Journal) -- Bharti Airtel Ltd. said its Chief Operating Officer Shashwat Sharma will become the managing director and chief executive officer of the company with effect from 1 January 2026.

In preparation for the new role, the company appointed Sharma as CEO-designate, the Indian telecom operator said in a stock exchange announcement. As CEO-designate, he will be responsible for the entire end-to-end consumer business, it added.

The current MD & CEO Gopal Vittal, who has led the company for the last twelve years, will be responsible for mentoring and grooming Sharma to take over the new position.

Sharma joined Bharti Airtel in 2018 as chief brand officer and took up the role of chief marketing officer in 2019, according to the company’s website. In July 2022, he got elevated to director – consumer business along with becoming the CEO of Airtel DTH, it said.

Before joining Bharti Airtel, Sharma has been a consumer marketer with Hindustan Unilever Ltd. in varied roles. He did his Post Graduate Program from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and B. Tech from Delhi College of Engineering.

Vittal To Get New Role

The company also said Vittal will become executive vice chairman of Bharti Airtel with effect from 1 January 2026, as part of a succession process.

In the new role, Vittal will take on broader telecom responsibilities across the group while continuing to lead the India business, according to the statement. He will be appointed to the board of Airtel Africa Plc as Bharti Airtel’s nominee director to provide strategic guidance, it said.

In addition, Vittal will be responsible for driving group synergies in select areas such as network strategy, digital & technology, procurement and talent.

The company said Rakesh Mittal, having served Bharti Airtel for nine years in his current term, will move on to the boards of Indus Towers Ltd. and Bharti Hexacom Ltd.

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