Airtel picks commercial executive for Africa duties

Dar es Salaam. Bharti Airtel, which trades as Airtel has appointed Rajeev Sethi (pictured) as the new Chief Commercial Officer for its Africa operations.

A statement issued yesterday to the media, said Mr Rajeev will be responsible for the formulation and implementation of customer-centric commercial strategies across the 15 African countries where Airtel operates.

“His key focus will be across consumer and enterprise businesses covering products and pricing, distribution, brand and customer experience,” reads part of the statement.

Announcing the appointment, Mr Raghunath Mandava, Managing Director and CEO, Airtel Africa, said: “With his vast experience across a range of developing markets, Rajeev will contribute immensely in accelerating our growth journey. I am confident that Rajeev will take the Airtel brand to greater heights.”

Mr Rajeev has over 21 years of diverse experience across several sectors such as telecommunications, IT, paints and petroleum, according to the statement.

Until recently, he was at Telenor Group where he served for more than seven years.

In his last assignment, he worked as CEO, Grameen Phone, the largest operator in Bangladesh.

Mr Rajeev holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (1997) and is an electrical engineer from Gujarat University (1993).

Bharti Airtel Limited with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa with headquarters in New Delhi, India.

The company ranks amongst the top three mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers.