Bharti Airtel Appoints Ezekwesili As Director

Former World Bank Vice President For Africa, Ms Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili has been appointed director in Bharti Airtel  following restructuring of the telecoms company’s board.

The changes on the Board of Bharti Airtel also extend to its subsidiary, Bharti Infratel.

The changes have been effected in view of the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Bharti Infratel, which is a leading provider of passive telecom infrastructure in India.

As part of the restructuring, Ms Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, a Nigerian and a world-renowned expert on economic reforms and economic governance, joins the Bharti Airtel Board. Ms Ezekwesili has a strong track record in the transparency, accountability, good governance, and anti-corruption movement worldwide, having been one of the co-founders of Transparency International.

As the Vice President of the World Bank in charge of the Africa region, Ms Ezekwesili was responsible for operations in 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and supervised a lending portfolio of over $40 billion.

Ms Ezekwesili previously served as Director of the Harvard-Nigeria Economic Strategy Programme in Boston and Abuja.

She holds a master’s degree in International Law from the University of Lagos, a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and is a chartered accountant.

Commenting on the restructuring, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, said: “These changes have been effected in line with our strong corporate governance culture and will ensure that Bharti and Singtel have distinct representatives on the Boards of Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel. I am confident that these two world-class Boards will continue to guide these companies to greater heights. I would also take this opportunity to thank the outgoing directors for their contribution to the Board of Bharti Airtel.”

Following the restructuring, the composition of the Board of Bharti Airtel would be Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman and Managing Director), Mr. Ajay Lal, Ms. Chua Sock Koong, Mr. Craig Ehrlich, Mr. Manoj Kohli, Mr. Manish Kejriwal, Mr. N. Kumar, Mr. Nikesh Arora, Ms. Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Mr. Pulak Prasad, Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Ms. Tan Yong Choo and Mr. Tsun-yan Hsieh.

—Henry Ojelu