Bharti Airtel appoints Christian de Faria as new CEO of Africa; Manoj Kohli to return to India - Angel Broking

Bharti Airtel which operates across 20 countries in Asia and Africa, yeaterday announced that it has appointed Christian de Faria as the chief executive officer for the company's Africa operations, with effect from January 1, 2014. Manoj Kohli, MD & CEO (International), in-charge of Bharti Airtel's operations in Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and is currently stationed at Airtel Africa's headquarters in Nairobi, will relocate to India, with effect from January 1, 2014. Mr. Faria, who will join Airtel Africa on September 16, 2013, will initially take charge of Airtel's Anglophone operations and will commence a comprehensive orientation encompassing Airtel Africa HQ functions, Francophone and Nigeria Regions.

Faria will be based in Nairobi and will report to Mr. Kohli. Besides continuing to oversee Bharti Airtel's businesses in Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Mr. Kohli would lead strategic issues such as in-market consolidation via merger and acquisitions (M&A), business development, key matters relating to tower company, global partnerships, global sourcing from key partners and strategic regulatory aspects. Mr. Kohli will continue his position on the Boards of Bharti Airtel International Netherlands and Airtel Networks Ltd, Nigeria. Before joining Airtel Africa, Faria has worked for more than 30 years across multiple geographies, diverse sectors and companies including MTN, Telekom Malaysia, Discvision, Deutsche Telecom and Grundig. Faria was associated with MTN for the last seven years, where he held senior leadership positions, including executive vice-president and group commercial officer. As CEO, Airtel Africa, Faria will be responsible for providing overall leadership for the African operations and will manage its profit and loss. He will lead the growth agenda across markets and build key skills and capabilities within the organisation. He will also be co-opted on the Board of Bharti Airtel International Netherlands and on the Boards of major operational companies in Africa. We maintain our Buy rating on the stock with target price of Rs. 340.

Source : Equity Bulls

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