Bharti Airtel today announced senior leadership appointments for its B2B unit – Airtel Business. Ajay Chitkara has been appointed as Director and CEO of Airtel Business. In his new role, Ajay will spearhead Airtel Business as an integrated unit that will include both domestic enterprise and global enterprise operations of the company. Ajay will continue reporting to Gopal Vittal, who is the MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel.
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “I am delighted at Ajay’s appointment to lead Airtel’s B2B business as an integrated entity, which will help us leverage our global reach and deep relationships in the enterprise segment. I am also pleased to welcome back Pankaj after his successful stint with Bharti Infratel. I wish Ajay and Pankaj the very best for their new roles.”
Ajay has been with Airtel since 2001 and is credited with building brand Airtel in the global wholesale segment. In his previous role as Director & CEO – Global Business and Nxtra, Ajay was responsible for creating business strategies for Carriers, Global Enterprise and OTT segments, and implementing them globally through the regional teams. Airtel states that it was under Ajay’s leadership, its Global Business grew in topline to become a billion-dollar business, while EBIT margins jumped five-fold since 2013.
Airtel also announced the appointment of Pankaj Miglani as CEO - Global Business. Pankaj will report to Ajay Chitkara. In his previous role, Pankaj was Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bharti Infratel and played a key role in the company’s IPO in 2012. Pankaj is a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and Company Secretary with more than 25 years of experience in the finance and business domains. He has earlier worked in Airtel for ten years in various roles, including Chief Controller – Enterprise Business and Business Head – Global Voice Services. Airtel is currently the leading telecom operator in India with over 305 million user base.