Mobile operator Airtel Kenya has replaced Chief Executive Officer Shivan Bhargava, and the position has now been filled by Milicom’s Tigo Ghana general manager Adil El Yousseffi. According to sources close to the situation, Bhargava left because he wanted to spend more time with his family in India.
Bhargava took over from Rene Meza, and started his career at Airtel Kenya as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2012. Meza has since been appointed CEO of Vodacom Tanzania.
According to CIO, “Bhargava’s departure coincides with the takeover of yuMobile subscribers by Airtel Kenya following a deal which will see Essar exit the Kenyan market after years of losses. The deal would see Airtel add an additional 2.1 million new subscribers to its network, pushing their marketshare above the 25% mark with a combined user base of 8.2 million subscriptions.”
In another boardroom shuffle, former managing director of Bharti Enterprises Manoj Kohli has been replaced by Gopal Vittal, effective from 1 April 2014.
Bhargava took over at Airtel just as the company saw an increase its market share from 15 percent to 16.5 percent in one quarter, and he was also questioned by police over unregistered SIM cards following the Westgate mall terrorist attack.
source:ITnews
