Airtel appoints Vani Venkatesh as CEO - Retail

New Delhi, November 8, 2016: Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, today announced the appointment of Vani Venkatesh as CEO – Retail. In her new role, Vani will be responsible for driving Airtel’s retail strategy to deliver a seamless and world-class customer experience across retail touch points.

Vani takes over from Rohit Malhotra, who after spending over nine years with the Company in various senior positions, has decided to pursue opportunities outside of Airtel.

Commenting on the appointment, Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “We are delighted to have Vani on board and are confident that her rich experience will add to our initiatives to ensure customer delight across our retail points. I wish her all the best for her new role. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rohit for his valuable contribution to the company.”

Vani brings with her over 19 years of work experience. In her last role, she was responsible for the medical nutrition business at Abbott Healthcare (India). Prior to Abbott Healthcare, she worked with McKinsey & Company, where she led projects across industries, helping her clients to plan and implement successful retail strategies. She began her career with Hindustan Unilever in the Finance division. Vani is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. She is also a qualified CA, Cost and Works Accountant and Company Secretary.

Airtel has been investing ahead of the curve to consistently improve experience at customer touch points – both physical and online. The Company has revamped and rolled out Company Owned Company Operated Airtel stores across the country as a one stop shop for all customer requirements. Till date over 550 COCO stores in multiple formats have been opened across the country. These COCO stores are supplemented by over 2400 franchisee retail stores across India.

Airtel also offers convenient online touch points to its customers, who can recharge their pre-paid mobile, DTH accounts and pay post-paid, broadband bills through a unified online interface on the Airtel website and MyAirtel app.

About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 359 million customers across its operations at the end of August 2016. To know more please visit, www.airtel.in