Changes in Bharti Airtel top management

Milan Rao, chief executive officer (CEO) of Bharti Airtel’s enterprise business, has resigned. He joined the company in 2003 and held various senior positions in the enterprise business. In another development, Krish Shankar, executive director, human resources, has resigned from the company. He plans to pursue an executive doctorate programme following his resignation. Shankar joined Airtel in 2007. In the past, he has worked with companies such as Unilever and Eicher Tractors.

Meanwhile, Neil Pollock has been appointed head of Nxtra Data Limited, Bharti Airtel’s newly created data centre subsidiary. Prior to this, Pollock headed the integrated managed solutions and services business of the company.

Further, Airtel has appointed Christian de Faria as head of Africa operations with effect from January 1, 2014. He will replace Manoj Kohli, managing director (MD) and CEO (international), who has been heading the company’s African operations since 2010. Kohli, who is currently based in Nairobi at the company’s African headquarters, is expected to relocate to India.

Reliance Communications appoints Deepak Khanna as CEO, India Enterprise Business

Reliance Communications has appointed Deepak Khanna as CEO, India enterprise business. His appointment comes at a time when the company is targeting a compound annual growth rate of 30 per cent in revenue and profitability from its enterprise business over the next five years. Prior to this, Khanna worked in various senior positions with Bharti Airtel and Tulip Telecom.

John Samuel resigns from Verizon Business

John Samuel has resigned as president, India, Verizon Business. He joined the company in 2007, prior to which he worked as sales director at BT India (formerly British Telecom). Harsh Marwah, currently sales head at BT India, is likely to replace Samuel. Verizon Business is the enterprise subsidiary of US-based telecom giant Verizon. The company offers connectivity solutions to large enterprises in the country.

Huawei India appoints Suresh Reddy as VP for its enterprise business

Huawei India has appointed Suresh Reddy as vice-president (VP) of its enterprise business group. The appointment is a part of the company’s plans to enhance its focus on its enterprise business. Prior to his new role, Reddy was working with HCL Infosystems as VP, and head of the digilife distribution and marketing services IT and office automation business groups. In the past, he has worked with organisations such as Dell, HP India, Oracle and GE in various leadership roles.

P. Allainguillaume to head Mahindra Comviva’s global unit

Mahindra Comviva has appointed Patrick Allainguillaume as head of its global market unit. The appointment comes at a time when the company is focusing on extending its footprint in Europe and America. In his new role,

Allainguillaume will be responsible for devising and implementing Mahindra Comviva’s global sales strategy. He has over two decades of experience in the IT and telecom sectors, and has held several executive positions for value-added service organisations in Europe. Ambar Sur, who was earlier heading the global market unit at Mahindra Comviva, will move to a new role in innovation and strategic business at the company.

Deepak Mehrotra resigns as CEO of Micromax

Deepak Mehrotra has resigned as CEO of Micromax. He joined the company in December 2011 and was responsible for product revamp, trade partnerships and overall business performance. Previously, he served as executive director, mobility (for the north, west and south regions) at Bharti Airtel. He also worked with Coca-Cola and Asian Paints. Mehrotra is reportedly looking to join Pearson, a leading company in the education sector, as MD of its India business.

Microsoft appoints Anil Bhansali as MD of Microsoft India (R&D)

Anil Bhansali has been appointed MD of Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited as well as leader of the Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC). Prior to this, Bhansali was general manager of the cloud and enterprise engineering teams at MSIDC. He began his career with Microsoft in Redmond in 1991 as part of the Office division, where he worked on MS Excel for multiple releases. He relocated to India in 2003 as director of the Windows Live Platforms Services Group.