Telecom Lead Asia: Bharti Airtel CEO – India & South Asia Sanjay Kapoor has resigned.

According to sources, Sanjay was under pressure from Airtel management to move to Africa. As per a new management team at Airtel, Manoj Kohli, who is currently heading Africa, is expected to become the head of both Africa and Indian telecom business.

In the recent past, several senior executives exited from Airtel. Airtel is also facing immense pressure to improve profitability. Bharti Airtel’s net profit margin decreased to 3.6 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2013 from 3.9 percent in first quarter and 21.4 in fiscal 2010.

READ MORE: Bharti Airtel is facing significant senior level exodus in 2012-13.

Sanjay joined Bharti Cellular as its COO in 1998 and soon took over as its CEO to develop Delhi Circle as the foundation stone of Airtel’s growth. Sanjay has held several leadership roles since and has been instrumental in shaping the growth of Airtel.

As CEO – India & South Asia, he led key transformations including the launch of Airtel’s new global identity.

He played a key role in shaping the organization from being a voice centric business to a mobile internet company, with forays into 3G, 4G, WiFi etc., the launch of Airtel Business, an enterprise brand, conceptualization and implementation of Airtel Money as a new strategic business.

“Sanjay has had an enviable performance track record, strategic disposition, business acumen and is an inspirational leader,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman & managing director, Bharti Airtel.

AIRTEL ACHIEVEMENTS DURING SANJAY’S REGIME

During Sanjay’s tenure, Airtel’s customer base increased to 200 million
Airtel developed DTH business
Enhanced footprint in Asia to include Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Retained mobile revenue market share at over 30 percent

READ MORE: In December 2011, Bharti Airtel has achieved more than 50 million customers in Africa, where it acquired mobile operations in 15 countries in a $10.7 billion deal in June 2010.

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