Bharti Airtel has announced its intentions to merge its Indian and African operations under a Global Manager, signifying that a major management change looms at the company.
The new structural changes will reflect the company’s “One Airtel” concept in its entire global operations.
According to Economic Times India, the company executives have confirmed that the mobile company is already working with consultants to bring the plans to reality. Created in 2006, “One Airtel” is an integrated structure that initially was meant to consolidate the company’s business in India.
This will mean that Africa and India will not have separate heads but will report to a global CEO, although the finer details of the restructure have not been agreed upon. The details are expected to be made public after a meeting of the board early next year.
According to a report by Economic Times India, Manoj Kohli the MD at Bharti and CEO of African operations could be given the job of heading the merged markets. He has been the head of African business since the company bought out Zain for approximately US$8.97 billion in 2010.
Bharti Airtel’s African subsidiary operates in 17 countries in Africa. The company had recorded over 257 million customers across the market by the end of June 2012. It hopes to have over 100 million customers in Africa by March 2013.
