Vishal S. Raghuvanshi
Chief Operating Officer, CloudExtel
Vishal S. Raghuvanshi is a telecom veteran with over 23 years of experience across various segments such as telecommunications, renewable energy, network-as-a-service and IT. Throughout his career, he has held several leadership roles, including group COO at CREI, CEO at Rajasthan Circle and COO of the Gujarat Circle in Indus Towers. He also worked at Globalspace Technologies, Nokia, Rolta Thales and Reliance Communications. Notably, he served in the Indian Army as Officer Commanding Communication at the army headquarters in Delhi.
As COO of CloudExtel, Vishal possesses a thorough understanding of wireless ecosystems, including trends, products, planning and execution. He leads speedy deployment and service-level agreement-based telecom infrastructure maintenance, ensuring regulatory compliance. He drives innovation, fosters customer engagement, and focuses on strategic growth in the competitive telecom landscape.
When asked about his vision for the future of the Indian telecom sector, Vishal shared a compelling outlook. “The growing trend of digital adoption and consumption, with YoY rises per subscriber, is clear evidence of the massive surge in data consumption. This, in turn, is creating an urgent need for denser digital infrastructure, such as poles, towers and small cells, to support the digital transformation sweeping across country”, he says. Vishal highlights network densification as a critical challenge for infrastructure providers (IPs). He emphasises the importance of balancing infrastructure expansion with the performance and reliability of existing networks. To address this, he urges IPs to play a role in the 5G rollout by collaborating with stakeholders.
One of the most memorable assignments in Vishal’s career was his expat role in Africa with Airtel as operations director for Zambia and operations head for seven countries. This assignment included navigating local cultures, driving the adoption of 24×7 telecom services, understanding diverse geographical norms and managing critical transition missions. When asked about his management style, Vishal highlighted, “My core endeavour has been to keep evolving, unlearning, re-learning and continuously strengthening my leadership foundation.”
Vishal enjoys spending his spare time reading books, playing racket sports, travelling and engaging in adventurous activities. He values spending quality time with his family which, comprises his wife and two children, Mahek and Viraaj. Vishal holds a degree in BE Electronics and an executive management programme at the IIM, Ahmedabad. He is also certified as an Independent Director by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.
