Sunil Bharti Mittal will retire as the chair of the Airtel Africa Board in July, with Gopal Vittal set to be appointed as non-executive chair in his stead.
As per a statement by Airtel Africa, Mittal, who served as the board’s chair since the company’s listing back in 2019, informed the board of his decision to retire at the conclusion of the year’s annual general meeting (AGM) in July 2026.
Airtel Africa provides mobile voice, mobile data and mobile money services to 14 countries in in sub-Saharan Africa.
‘Confident now is the time to step aside as Chair’
“I want to extend my thanks to the Board of Airtel Africa for their support to me as Chairman. Airtel Africa has a solid strategy and an outstanding leadership team in place, the strength of which is evident in recent results, so I am confident that now is the time for me to step aside as Chair,” Mittal said.
“It has been an honour to lead Airtel Africa in this capacity, and I know the company will continue to prosper and to advance the transformative power of connectivity to the millions of customers we serve across 14 African countries. I have offered my services and will be available to support the company as requested by the Chair,” he added.
Who is Gopal Vittal? About Sunil Mittal’s successor
As per the filing, Vittal will be appointed as Non‑Executive Chair of the Airtel Africa Board with effect from July. He was appointed by nomination of the controlling shareholder subject to the relationship agreement between Bharti Airtel, Airtel Africa Mauritius, the majority shareholder and an indirect subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Bharti Telecom.
The company called Vittal “an established telecoms leader who led Bharti Airtel to a life-time high revenue market share in an intensely competitive market and is the current Board Chair of the GSMA”. He was appointed a non-executive director of Airtel Africa in October 2024.
GSMA or the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, is a lobby group for the telecom industry, representing over 750 mobile operators (full time members) and 400 associate member companies.
“The Board acknowledges that Vittal will not be independent on appointment for the purposes of the UK Corporate Governance Code,” it added.
What’s next for Airtel Africa?
Meanwhile, Shravin Bharti Mittal will assume the role of deputy chair of the board from the same date in July, the filing added.
In the post, he will “ensure continuity with the founding family and significant shareholder and will be the Board’s conduit with the Airtel Money Board, on which he serves, and with Airtel Africa’s headquarters in Dubai, where he is based”, the filing notified.
Further, as part of the ongoing succession planning in respect of the company’s Non-Executive Directors, Annika Poutiainen will also retire at the conclusion of the July AGM, after serving for over seven years.
On Sunil Mittal’s future role in the company, senior independent director Tsega Gebreyes in the statement praised his “exemplary leadership” for the company’s achievements and added that the executive “has agreed to be available to support Airtel Africa as the need arises”.
