Gopal Vittal official confirmed as new GSMA Board Chair

The GSMA Board of Directors has officially confirmed Gopal Vittal as new Chair for the remainder of the Board term, until the end of 2026.

Mr Vittal has served on the GSMA Board for 8 years, including as Deputy Chair since 2023 and most recently as Acting Chair of the Board since mid-January, 2025. As GSMA Chair, Mr Vittal will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, which represents the world’s mobile operators and companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.

This includes completing the transition to 5G Standalone, driving new revenue models, and harnessing the potential of AI and GSMA Open Gateway APIs to ensure growth. The GSMA Open Gateway initiative, using open network APIs, today has participation of mobile operators accounting for almost 80% of mobile connections globally.

“I am honoured to be elected as the Chair of the GSMA Board. The mobile industry contributed $6.5 trillion to the global economy in 2024 and is the spine on which much of the innovation in the world is built. The GSMA, as a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem, is fundamental to discovering, developing and delivering innovation that delivers positive change for all. I look forward to working closely with the GSMA team and the rest of the Board to continue this important work,” said Gopal Vittal.

Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, commented: “I have worked with Mr Vittal for many years and am delighted that he has been appointed Chair of the GSMA Board. His knowledge and experience make him very well positioned to lead the Board and the industry through the current challenges and opportunities, including how to leverage AI and complete 5G for new business models and revenue streams.”

The GSMA Board will announce the election of a new Deputy Chair in due course.

Gopal Vittal is currently the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Bharti Airtel Group and sits on the boards of Bharti Airtel Limited, Airtel Africa PLC and Indus Towers.

In his role as Vice Chairman and Managing Director, he is responsible for providing overall leadership for Airtel’s operations. Over the last 12 years, under his charge, Airtel has built a winning portfolio of businesses across mobile, B2B, homes and digital services, achieving a lifetime high revenue market share in an intensely competitive market.

In addition to strong business performance, Airtel has built a resilient organisation, with best-in-class talent, world-class digital capabilities and a strong set of values. Customer obsession and digital capabilities embedded in its talent pool secure its future. The capital markets acknowledge this with a fivefold increase in the market capitalisation of the company to well over $100 billion.

In addition, Mr Vittal was also with Hindustan Unilever for over 20 years. He led several national and global assignments across sales, marketing and general management.

In his last four years he was on the board of the company, responsible for leading the Home and Personal Care Business, 80 per cent of the company’s portfolio, and the architect behind the turnaround of the business from 5 per cent to 15 per cent.

Mr Vittal is an alumnus of Madras Christian College and has completed his MBA from IIM, Kolkata.

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