Bharti Airtel to elevate P D Sarma as managing director of Bangladesh arm

KOLKATA: Bharti Airtel will shortly name PD Sarma as the new managing director of its Bangladesh subsidiary at a time when the telecom operator is aiming to drive data growth in the country. Sarma, who is currently hub chief executive of the company’s mobile operations across West Bengal, Kolkata, Odisha, Assam and Northeast circles, will directly report to Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal, a company executive said.

At Airtel Bangladesh, he will replace Chris Tobit, who is slated to return to Bharti Airtel India in a leadership role that will be finalised shortly. A company spokesman confirmed Sarma’s elevation and Tobit’s imminent relocation to India. “We continue to provide growth opportunities to our people within India and our global operations,” the spokesman said in an e-mail to ET.