Ravinder Takkar named new CEO of Vodafone Idea after Balesh Sharma steps down

The change at the top comes within a year after the merger of the two telecom firms

Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Group-owned Idea Cellular had merged their telecom operations last year in the wake of cut-throat competition fuelled by the entry of Reliance Jio | Reuters Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Group-owned Idea Cellular had merged their telecom operations last year in the wake of cut-throat competition fuelled by the entry of Reliance Jio | Reuters

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd has appointed Ravinder Takkar, currently Vodafone Group’s representative in India, as its new chief executive after Balesh Sharma, who had been the CEO, decided to step down for personal reasons. The change at the top comes just under a year after the merger of the two telecom firms was completed. 

Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Group-owned Idea Cellular had merged their telecom operations last year in the wake of cut-throat competition fuelled by the entry of Reliance Jio. Sharma had been the CEO of Vodafone Idea since the merger was completed at the end of August last year.  He oversaw the integration of Vodafone and Idea, resulting in the estimated timescale to complete the transition falling from four years to two years. 

Sharma will be taking up a new role within the Vodafone Group, which will be announced at a later date, the company said on Monday.

Takkar who has been appointed as his replacement for three years effective immediately, is currently a board member of Vodafone Idea and Indus Towers. Takkar has been with Vodafone Group since 1994 and has been involved in India’s telecom industry since 2007, when Vodafone Group entered the country.

“Under Balesh's stewardship, Vodafone Idea has realised a significant proportion of the synergies in a much shorter timescale than originally estimated,” said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea. 

“Ravinder is well versed with the Vodafone Idea business context and I am confident that he will successfully steer the company through the next phase of development and help unlock its full potential,” Birla added. 

The merged Vodafone Idea had overtaken Bharti Airtel to become the largest telecom operator in the country. As of June 30, Vodafone Idea had a market share of 32.90 per cent in terms of wireless subscribers, data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday showed. It was followed by Reliance Jio with a share of 28.42 per cent and Bharti Airtel with 27.49 per cent. 

Vodafone Idea and Airtel are fighting a fierce battle with Reliance Jio, which had disrupted the market three years ago offering free voice calls for life and data at extremely low prices. 

 Jio added more than 82 lakh subscribers in June, while Vodafone Idea, saw its base decline by over 41 lakh subscribers during the month, according to the TRAI data.