Sunil Bharti Mittal Joins Board Of British Telecom Giant BT Group
Sunil Bharti Mittal and Gopal Vittal will join the board of BT Group as non-independent non-executive directors.
UK telecom giant BT Group plc on Monday appointed Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal and a Bharti Airtel Ltd. executive on its board.
Mittal and Gopal Vittal, vice chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel, will join the board of BT Group as non-independent non-executive directors, the company said in a statement.
They will join the board as per the terms of a deal signed last year through which a Bharti Enterprises Ltd. subsidiary acquired a 24.5% stake in BT Group for an estimated $4 billion.
Mittal and Vittal are the nominated representatives of Bharti Televentures UK Ltd., a company established and wholly owned by Bharti Group. Mittal will also be a member of the nominations committee of BT Group.
"I am delighted to be joining the Board of BT, an iconic company delivering critical infrastructure and services for the UK," Sunil Bharti Mittal said in a statement. "I look forward to working with Chairman Adam Crozier, the Board and CEO Allison Kirkby to drive forward the strategy to win in the market and deliver world-leading services for BT’s customers."
"I look forward to bringing my experience at Airtel to help support BT, whose unique assets and businesses offer valuable opportunities for growth," Gopal Vittal said.
BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Bharti Global became the British telco's largest shareholder in August 2024 after acquiring shares from Altice UK, founded by French telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi.
Who Is Gopal Vittal
Gopal Vittal's stint at Bharti Airtel spans 12 years. Under his tenure, Airtel has transformed into a highly diversified portfolio of businesses, with significant expansions in mobile, home broadband, enterprise services, and digital platforms, as per a company profile.
Before joining Airtel, Gopal spent 20 years at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., where he held leadership roles across multiple categories and markets.
Vittal serves on the boards of Bharti Airtel, Airtel Africa Plc, and Indus Towers Ltd. He is also the chairperson of the industry body Global System for Mobile Communications Association.
He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, and is an alumnus of Madras Christian College.
