After having Gopal Vittal manage the telecom giant for 12 long years, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has announced a successor to him. Shashwat Sharma will take charge as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) from January 1, 2026.

The Board has elevated Vittal to the role of Executive Vice Chairman of the company from January 1, 2026. According to sources, Vittal will continue to have a bigger portfolio and still lead Airtel Business, HR, IT and Legal. Sharma will take charge for the three main consumer businesses – Mobile, DTH and Broadband (Home).

Currently, Sharma is the Chief Operating Officer for Airtel, where he joined as the Chief Brand Officer in 2018. Within a year, he was promoted to the role of Chief Marketing officer in 2019 leading the full marketing organisation across B2C, B2B and corporate communications.

In July 2022, he got elevated again to Director, Consumer Business, along with becoming the CEO of Airtel DTH.

Milestones at Airtel

“Shashwat has been instrumental in leading the marketing and growth strategy for the company in addition to building the brand aspiration for Airtel. Some of the notable initiatives that he drove includes the launch of Airtel Thanks App, the ‘Open to Questions’ proposition for customer obsession and the launch of Airtel Black,” the company said.

Under his leadership, Airtel has launched several industry first innovations that underscore Airtel’s philosophy of building differentiation in product catalogues across mobility, broadband, enterprise and digital services. These initiatives have been critical in driving up the average revenue per user (ARPU) for the company, it said.

Before joining Airtel, Sharma was a consumer marketeer with Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) in varied roles, handling brands such as Dove to Lakme, Oral Care and leading the launch of HUL’s ayurvedic brand – Lever Ayush.

Sharma is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a BTech from Delhi College of Engineering.

“I am extremely pleased with the succession and transition plan of leadership at Airtel and there could not have been a better time for Airtel to unveil the new arrangement where change and continuity will go hand in hand. Empowerment has been an article of faith with me which has resulted in a highly energised management delivering superior results,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Airtel, said.

Airtel is one of the rare home grown enterprises where the finest professionals combine entrepreneurial flair to bring to hundreds of millions of customers, the best technology and services in the industry, he added.

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