5 Leadership Changes that Made Waves so Far in 2025
Gopal Vittal as GSMA’s New Chairman
Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, has been appointed the new Chairman of GSMA, a position he will hold until 2026. In this role, Gopal will guide the strategic direction of the organization, which represents 1,000 telecom companies globally, along with manufacturers of handsets and devices, software firms, equipment suppliers, internet companies, and entities from related industries.
Gopal is the second Indian to be elected as Chairman of the GSMA Board, following Sunil Bharti Mittal. He has been involved with the GSMA Board for over a decade, having served in various capacities, including Deputy Chair for the last three years.
Most recently, he was appointed the Acting Chair of the GSMA Board and has now been officially confirmed as its Chair.
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In addition to his role at GSMA, Gopal continues to serve as the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel and is a Board member of Bharti Airtel Limited, Airtel Africa PLC, and Indus Towers. Before this, he was the Managing Director and CEO of Airtel for 12 years.