Telecom giant Bharti Airtel announced on October 28 that Shashwat Sharma, the current Chief Operating Officer, will step into the role of Managing Director and CEO on January 1, 2026. At that time, the current MD and CEO, Gopal Vittal, will transition to Executive Vice Chairman.
To prepare for this shift, Sharma has been named the CEO designate, taking charge of Bharti Airtel’s entire consumer business. Vittal will mentor Sharma to ensure a smooth transition into his upcoming leadership role.
Gopal Vittal has successfully led Bharti Airtel as MD and CEO for the past 12 years, guiding it through significant growth across mobile, B2B, home broadband, DTH, and digital services. Under his leadership, Airtel has increased its mobile revenue market share from 30% to 40%, expanded its talent and digital capabilities, and quintupled its market capitalization to over $100 billion. This has positioned Airtel as a resilient, customer-focused organization, as noted in the company’s regulatory filing.
Airtel also reported a 168% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹3,593 crore for the July-September quarter, attributed to its first tariff increase in over two years.
In alignment with its succession strategy, Airtel has appointed Vittal as Vice Chairman. Alongside his India business responsibilities, he will oversee broader telecom initiatives across the group and represent Airtel on the Airtel Africa Plc board as the Bharti nominee director. Additionally, he will drive group synergies in areas such as network strategy, technology, procurement, and talent development.
Vittal will split his time between Delhi and Bangalore, while continuing extensive travel to oversee the group’s transition and maintain oversight across its global operations.
