Bharti Airtel Appoints Gopal Vittal As Executive Vice Chairman; Shashwat Sharma To Step Up As MD And CEO In January, 2026

Bharti Airtel CEO: A leading telecom provider Bharti Airtel has announced that Gopal Vittal, who has served as the company’s Managing Director and CEO for the past 12 years, is being appointed Executive Vice Chairman as part of a structured succession process. 

Effective January 1, 2026, Gopal Vittal will assume the role of Executive Vice Chairman at Bharti Airtel. The company further disclosed that Shashwat Sharma, currently serving as Chief Operating Officer (COO), will be promoted to Managing Director and CEO on the same date.

While continuing to lead the India business, Vittal will take on broader telecom responsibilities across the group. Shashwat Sharma is being appointed CEO designate of the company. He will be responsible for the entire end-to-end consumer business. Vittal will be responsible for mentoring and grooming Sharma to take over as MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel Ltd, said the company.

“I am extremely pleased with the succession and transition plan of leadership at Airtel and there could not have been a better time for Airtel to unveil the new arrangement where change and continuity will go hand in hand,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel.

“Empowerment has been an article of faith with me which has resulted in a highly-energised management delivering superior results,” Mittal added.

In a board-level restructuring, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, having served Airtel for 9 years in his current term, will move on to the boards of Indus Towers Limited and Bharti Hexacom Limited. Rajan Bharti Mittal returns to Airtel to be the Bharti Board nominee with immediate effect, said the company.

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 per cent to 40 per cent. The company has a market capitalisation of over $100 billion. (With IANS Inputs)