Airtel on Monday announced that Shashwat Sharma will be appointed as the MD & CEO starting January 1, 2026. He is currently serving as the COO in the company. Current MD & CEO Gopal Vittal will be elevated to Vice Chairman.
Indian telecom company Bharti Airtel on Monday announced that its current Chief Operating Officer, Shashwat Sharma, will be appointed as MD & CEO of the telco. He will take charge from January 1, 2026. The company made this decision after elevating Gopal Vittal to Vice Chairman as part of its planned succession. Vittal will also assume his new role on January 1, 2026. He has been serving as the Managing Director & CEO of the telco for twelve years.
Shashwat Sharma completed his schooling from Delhi Public School, RK Puram branch in 1999 and then went to Delhi College Of Engineering and completed his bachelor’s degree in B.E. He then went to IIM and completed his Post Graduation Diploma in Management.
Vittal is set to join the board of Airtel Africa Plc. His primary task will be to streamline group collaborations in areas such as network planning, digital tech, procurement, and talent grooming. At the same time, Sharma has been promoted to the position of CEO-designate, tasked with managing the whole consumer business. Throughout this transition, Sharma will find a mentor in Vittal.
It is worth noting that during Vittal’s tenure the telecom company has expanded its service portfolio and drastically increased its mobile services’ revenue market share from 30 percent to 40 percent.
Vittal’s leadership skyrocketed Airtel’s market value by five times, breaching the $100 billion mark. His main focus has been building a sturdy enterprise that not only highlights powerful digital competencies but also puts customer-centric values at its core.
“Airtel, India’s foremost corporate entity, has had a distinguished record of well thought out structured succession planning. 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 Chairman Sunil Mittal.
As per media reports, Vittal plans to split his schedule between Delhi and Bangalore, along with frequent travel. This is to ensure a smooth transition and to provide leadership across the organization.
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