Bharti Airtel MD Gopal Vittal named acting chair of GSMA board

Bharti Airtel vice-chairman and managing director Gopal Vittal has been appointed Acting Chair of the GSMA board following the resignation of José Maria Álvares-Pallete, Chairman & CEO, Telefónica, from the company.

“By virtue of this resignation, he (read: José Maria Álvares-Pallete) is no longer able to continue in the position of the Chair of the GSMA. Gopal (Vittal) was recently re-elected as the Deputy Chair of the GSMA board,” Airtel said in an official statement.

Vittal has also served the board as a key member for the term 2019-2020.


The GSMA represents the global telecommunications industry with over 1100 companies from the telecom ecosystem across the world including telecom service providers, handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors.