It was sudden, though not entirely unexpected. Effective April 1, 2007, Sunil Bharti Mittal stepped down as chief executive officer of Bharti Airtel. Mittal had indicated earlier that he would hand over the reins of the company on turning 50 to Manoj Kohli. He will now focus only on the group’s “macro issues”.
While Kohli will handle Bharti’s dayto-day operations, Mittal as chairman and group managing director of Bharti Enterprises will focus on corporate strategy and governance.
Mittal was one of the first players to enter the Indian telecom sector when it opened up in 1992. Since then he has steered Bharti to become the number one cellular service provider in the country.
Mittal’s stepping down is part of a much larger reorganisation within the company.Effective April 1, 2007, Bharti Enterprises will become the strategic head of the group’s businesses, which include telecom, retail, communications and media devices, insurance and financial services, agriculture, BPOs and software. It will supervise the various segments and evaluate new business opportunities, acquisitions and strategic alliances.
Bharti Enterprises’ core team will consist of Vice-Chairman Rakesh Mittal, Managing Directors Akhil Gupta and Rajan Mittal, and Director Badri Agarwal.While Gupta will oversee the group’s telecom operations, Rakesh Mittal will manage the communications, media devices and agriculture businesses. Rajan Mittal will supervise the retail and new projects segment. Agarwal will direct Bharti’s insurance, financial services, software and BPO interests along with the Bharti Foundation.The core team will be aided by nine group directors who will carry out key functions across the group’s businesses.
In addition, three governing bodies have been formed to reinforce the company’s internal governance model. These include the Bharti Management Board, the Group Finance and Audit Council, and the Bharti Management Council.
According to Mittal, “The new organisation structure and governance model are designed to focus on Bharti Enterprises’ overall strategic direction and leadership development.” Industry watchers have welcomed the move.
The restructuring is expected to give the company a strong fillip to take on its newest competitor: Vodafone Essar. Recently, Vodafone declared that it intends to dethrone Bharti from the number one spot.
Consequently, Bharti is gearing up. By 2010, it will invest $8 billion to achieve 25 per cent market share. This is equal to the amount it has invested so far since its inception for mobile, basic, national and international long distance, undersea cable and broadband services.The company will also add 20,000 base stations over the current year.
New management Group/Corporate directors:
