Manoj Kohli takes over as Bharti Airtel?s MD
As a part of Bharti Airtel?s restructuring exercise, Manoj Kohli has taken over as managing director (MD) of the company. Prior to this he was heading Airtel?s international operations and was also serving as joint MD. Further, Gopal Vittal, who has replaced Sanjay Kapoor as chief executive officer (CEO) of Airtel?s Indian and South Asian business, has also been appointed additional director and joint MD of the company.
Bharat Bambawale resigns from Bharti Airtel
Bharat Bambawale has resigned as brand director from Bharti Airtel. He had joined the company in August 2011, prior to which he was the global team leader for Unilever?s haircare portfolio at JWT, London. Bambawale?s resignation marks another major exit from Bharti Airtel following the recent restructuring by the company.
Sharad Mehrotra moves to a bigger role at Telenor
Sharad Mehrotra, Uninor?s chief sales officer, will be taking on a larger role at Telenor, the Norway-based parent company of Uninor. In his new role, Mehrotra will serve as the head of Telenor Asia?s Distribution 2.0 project. He will be responsible for the implementation of Uninor?s mass market distribution strategy, trade partnership model and cluster approach for conducting business in other Asian operations. He will be based at the Telenor Group?s Asia office in Bangkok.
Aircel?s all-India sales and distribution chief resigns
Jitendra Rahi, chief of Aircel?s all-India sales and distribution, has resigned from the company. He had been associated with Aircel since 2008. In the past, Rahi has served as chief operating officer at Vodafone Essar, and vice-president (VP), sales and business development, Bharti Airtel.
TDSAT?s lone board member retires
P.K. Rastogi, the only member currently serving on the board of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), has retired. With no bench member/chairperson to preside over matters, the tribunal has been rendered non-functional for the time being. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, TDSAT shall consist of a chairperson and not more than two members. TDSAT?s member, technical, retired in July 2011 and the post has been vacant since. In November 2012, TDSAT?s chairman, S.B. Sinha, also retired. While Justice Cyriac Joseph has been appointed the new chairman, industry sources report that he will not be joining the tribunal.
One97 Communications appoints Raj Ahuja as CFO
One97 Communications has appointed Raj Ahuja as its chief financial officer (CFO). Prior to joining One97 Communications, Ahuja was serving as executive VP, finance, Star India. In the past, he has worked with Wipro and NXP. In another development, One97 Communications has appointed Vivek N. Gour, director, MakeMyTrip, on the company board.
Wipro appoints CMO for its IT Business
Wipro Technologies has appointed Puneet Chandra, VP, corporate business services, Wipro BPO, as chief marketing officer (CMO) for its IT business. Chandra has been associated with Wipro for the past 12 years. He has also played a key role in expanding the company?s global delivery capabilities and setting up business centres in the US, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Romania and China. Chandra replaces Suchira Iyer, who was reporting to T.K. Kurien, CEO of Wipro?s IT Business. Iyer had joined Wipro Technologies in April 2012.
Ericsson appoints new head of region for India
Ericsson has appointed Chris Houghton as head of region, India. In his new role, which will become effective from June 3, 2013, Houghton will report to the chairman of region, India and senior VP, Asia-Pacific, Mats H. Olsson. Currently, Houghton is serving as head of customer unit, Ericsson UK and Ireland, and MD, Ericsson UK. He will succeed Fredrik Jejdling in India, who has assumed the role of head of region, Sub-Saharan Africa.
Vineet Taneja joins Samsung India
Samsung India has appointed Vineet Taneja as country head, mobile and digital imaging business. He replaces Ranjit Yadav, who resigned from the company in September 2012. Prior to joining Samsung, Taneja was operations director, South India and Sri Lanka, Bharti Airtel, and managed all its lines of business ? mobile, fixed line, voice, DSL and DTH ? for the region. In the past, he has served as CMO at Nokia India.
