Gopal Vittal, CEO and MD of Bharti Airtel, will step down at the beginning of 2026, to be replaced by current COO Shashwat Sharma, as the company announced its leadership succession plan.

As part of what it called a structured succession process, Vittal will take on the role of executive chairman until January 2026 and will continue to lead the company’s India business while taking on broader responsibilities across the group including mentoring Sharma to take on the top job.

From 1 January 2026, Vittal will transition to executive vice chairman, with Sharma taking the reins as CEO and MD.

In preparation for the role, Sharma has been appointed CEO designate, becoming responsible for the end-to-end consumer business.

Airtel chair Sunil Mittal said the company “has a distinguished record of well thought out structured succession planning”, adding there “could not have been a better time for Airtel to unveil the new arrangement where change and continuity go hand in hand”.

Last week, Vittal was also reappointed as deputy chair of the GSMA, a role he has held since the beginning of 2023.