Airtel appoints Amrita Padda as Chief People Officer

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s premier communications solutions provider, has appointed Amrita Padda as Chief People Officer with effect from 1 October, 2021. She will report to Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel.

In her new role, Amrita will be responsible for Airtel’s People strategy as the company transforms into a digital services provider of choice.

Commenting on the appointment, Gopal Vittal said: “I am delighted to welcome Amrita to Airtel. Our People and culture of empowerment are our biggest strengths that enable us to deliver world-class experiences to our customers. I am confident that Amrita will add immense value to Airtel’s exciting journey, help build new capabilities and ensure the company continues to be a magnet for top talent from across the world.”

Amrita has work experience of over two decades with Hindustan Unilever, where she has handled the entire spectrum of Human Resources roles. Most recently, she was the Chief People Officer for Unilever Marketplace, their newly set up global business unit to transform Distributive Trade. In the past, she has also led Human Resources for Unilever Philippines and for their Global Procurement function. She has strong expertise in leading Human Resources transformation projects globally and has been a pioneer of new initiatives at Unilever.

Amrita takes over from Samit Deb, who has decided to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities outside of Airtel. “I would like to thank Samit for his contribution to Airtel and strengthening our People practices. On behalf of everyone at Airtel, I wish him the very best in all his future endeavours.” added Gopal Vittal.

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 471 mn customers in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people.

Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/4.5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services.