Sunil Bharti Mittal elected as GSMA Chairman

Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Mittal has been elected as GSMA Chairman for a two-year period from January 2017 through December 2018. 

Mittal, who is the first Indian to be elected as Chairman of global telecom industry board, will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, which represents nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem. Bharti Airtel was the host of the inaugural GSMA Mobile 360 -  India event in New Delhi this week, as well as a meeting of the GSMA Board. 

GSMA Chairman Jon Fredrik Baksaas will step down from the Board at the end of 2016, after holding this position for the past three years. Baksaas was elected as a member of the GSMA Board in 2008.

On Wednesday, Mittal led the GSMA Board delegation at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a broad-ranging discussion, the meeting highlighted the pivotal role of mobile in delivering the government's Digital India vision of broadband as a utility for every citizen, bringing digital and financial inclusion to every corner of the country.

“I am delighted to be elected as Chairman of the GSMA, and look forward to working closely with the rest of the Board, the GSMA leadership team and our entire membership to address the critical issues facing our industry and our customers,” Mittal said. 

The GSMA also elected the new members of the 26-member Board and re-elected Mari-Noëlle Jego-Laveissiere, Executive Vice President, Innovation, Orange Group as Deputy Chair for the two-year period.

Mittal added, “In my new global role, I am excited to support the ongoing mobile broadband revolution in India to boost the Government’s Digital India Programme and its vision of broadband access for all.”

Mittal also took over as Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) early this year. He already serves on the Boards and Councils of several reputed international bodies and think-tanks like the World Economic Forum (WEF), Telecom Board of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Broadband Commission, Harvard University’s Global Advisory Council - Board of Dean’s Advisers at HBS, International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Prime Minister of Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council.

He is also a Trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and on the Board of Qatar Foundation Endowment.