Bharti Airtel Announces Shashwat Sharma as MD & CEO from 2026 in Planned Leadership Transition

Bharti Airtel has officially announced that Shashwat Sharma, currently serving as Chief Operating Officer, will step into the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2026. This leadership transition comes as part of Airtel’s structured succession plan, with Sharma being appointed as CEO-designate to lead the company’s consumer business.

As part of this succession, Gopal Vittal, who has served as MD & CEO for the past twelve years, will be elevated to Vice Chairman on the same date. Vittal will also join the Board of Airtel Africa Plc, where he will focus on driving group-wide synergies in network strategy, digital technology, procurement, and talent management. During the transition period, Vittal will mentor Sharma, preparing him to lead Airtel’s operations fully by 2026.

Under Vittal’s tenure, Airtel significantly expanded its service portfolio and increased its revenue market share in mobile services from 30% to 40%, contributing to a five-fold increase in market capitalization to over $100 billion. His leadership has emphasized building a resilient, customer-centric organization with strong digital capabilities.

Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Airtel, expressed his satisfaction with the succession plan, saying, “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 to unveil this arrangement, where change and continuity go hand in hand.”

Vittal will split his time between Delhi and Bangalore, continuing to travel extensively to oversee a seamless transition and maintain his leadership influence across the organization.