Shashwat Sharma to take over as Airtel CEO

Bharti Airtel Ltd. Chief Executive Officer-designate Shashwat Sharma, who is currently the firm’s chief operating officer, will take over the firm’s reins as CEO on January 1, 2026, the telco announced on Thursday. “In line with the planned succession, Gopal Vittal will move into the role of Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel on the 1st of January 2026 overseeing Bharti Airtel and all its subsidiaries,” Airtel said in a statement.

Mr. Vittal has helmed the telco through some of the most turbulent times for the telecom sector, namely the abrupt entry of Reliance Jio in 2016, which reordered the entire telecom market in the country, leaving only two survivors — Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the latter resulting from a merger of two erstwhile competitors. Mr. Sharma has been working together with Mr. Vittal over the past year as a part of an orchestrated transition.

Finance rejig

The firm also rejigged other top executives: “Soumen Ray, currently the Chief Financial Officer for Bharti Airtel India, will be appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer reporting to” Mr. Vittal, Airtel said. Mr. Ray will now oversee Airtel’s global portfolio, which includes a presence in certain African countries.

“Akhil Garg, currently Financial Controller, Bharti Airtel will be appointed as Chief Financial Officer for Bharti Airtel India,” the statement said. “Rohit Puri, currently Joint Company Secretary & Compliance Officer, will be appointed as Company Secretary & Compliance Officer for Bharti Airtel. Pankaj Tewari, who is the Group Company Secretary, will continue to provide leadership and oversight at a group level.”