Airtel tech head Jagbir Singh quits; Savargaonkar to take over

Telecom major Bharti Airtel's key technology officer Jagbir Singh has resigned and the company plans to promote Abhay Savargaonkar, its chief of network operations, to the post.

"Singh has quit due to personal reasons. Savargaonkar, who has been with the company for about eight years, will replace him," a person familiar with the matter said. An Airtel official confirmed the development.

Singh was a member of the Airtel management board and director of the Network Services Group.

Savargaonkar will be the third tech head for Airtel in five months. Jai Menon resigned from the post in December, after which Singh took over.

Airtel, the country's biggest mobile service company, has seen several high-level exits over one and a half years.

They include regulatory head Jyoti Pawar, chief executive officer for India and Sri Lanka Sanjay Kapoor, operations director for India and Sri Lanka Vineet Taneja and management board member Vinod Sawhny.

Savargaonkar joined Airtel in 2006 and has been involved in almost all network verticals, including 3G, planning and deployment. For the past one and a half years, Savargaonkar has been running network operations across all lines of business in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Airtel restructured its top management on April 1. The company elevated Gopal Vittal to head Airtel's operations in India and South Asia after serving as joint managing director and chief executive officer (India).

Manoj Kohli relinquished his position as MD & CEO (International) to take over as MD of Bharti Enterprises.

The company also formed the Bharti Governance Board, which includes Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, vice chairmen Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Rajan Bharti Mittal and Akhil Gupta, Managing Director Manoj Kohli and four Bharti veterans.