Inching closer to their proposed merger, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have announced Vodafone veteran Balesh Sharma as CEO of the proposed new telecom operator. The companies, which named Kumar Mangalam Birla Non-Executive Chairman, stopped short of disclosing a final date for the completion of the merger.

Sharma, who has been COO of Vodafone India since April 2017, was previously CEO of Vodafone Czech Republic and Vodafone Malta. In India, he was COO of Gujarat circle till 2011.

Akshaya Moondra, currently Chief Financial Officer at Idea, has been named CFO, while Ambrish Jain, currently Deputy MD at Idea, will be COO of the merged firm. Nick Gliddon, currently Director at Vodafone Business Services, will be responsible for the Enterprise Business, and Manish Dawar, currently CFO of Vodafone India, will have overall responsibility for integration planning, governance and execution.

“The team has extensive operational experience and is an excellent blend of expertise from both companies. We look forward to the completion of the merger and competing as one company in the marketplace,” Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said in a joint statement.

Sashi Shankar, currently Chief Marketing Officer at Idea, will be responsible for marketing and brand strategy for the consumer business. Vishant Vora, now Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone India, will be responsible for networks and overall technology strategy.

Prakash Paranjape, now Chief Information Officer at Idea, will be responsible for the company’s IT operations, and Suvamoy Roy Choudhury, who leads Vodafone India’s Human Resources, will be responsible for HR.

P Balaji, currently Vodafone India’s Head of Regulatory, External Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility, will be responsible for Corporate and External Affairs.

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