Bharti Airtel appoints Shashwat Sharma as MD & CEO, Soumen Ray as group CFO effective January 1

Bharti Airtel on Thursday (December 18) announced senior leadership changes following a meeting of its board of directors, approving the appointment of Shashwat Sharma as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (Airtel India) and Soumen Ray as Group Chief Financial Officer.

In an exchange filing, the company said the appointments were made based on the recommendations of its HR and Nomination Committee and are part of a planned succession process. Both appointments will take effect from January 1, 2026.

Shashwat Sharma, currently the CEO Designate, will take over as Managing Director and CEO (Airtel India) for a period of five years. He will succeed Gopal Vittal, who will move into the role of Executive Vice Chairman from the same date. Sharma has been working closely with Vittal over the past year as part of the transition process.

The board also approved the appointment of Soumen Ray, currently the Chief Financial Officer of Bharti Airtel India, as Group Chief Financial Officer with effect from January 1, 2026. Ray will report to Gopal Vittal in his new role.

The shares of the company ended nearly half a percent in the red on Thursday. The stock has gained as much as 31.5% in the year so far.

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