Bharti Airtel approves re-appointment of Sunil Bharti Mittal as Chairman, Nisaba Godrej as Independent Director

Bharti Airtel's board of directors on Wednesday approved the re-appointment of founder Sunil Bharti Mittal as Chairman of the company for a further term of five years, effective October 1, 2026, subject to shareholder approval.

The decision was taken at a board meeting held on May 13, 2026, on the recommendation of the HR and Nomination Committee. Mittal's current term as Chairman expires on September 30, 2026. The new term will run from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2031.

Mittal, who founded Bharti Enterprises and launched Airtel's cellular services in Delhi in 1995, serves in an executive capacity as Chairman. His brother Rajan Bharti Mittal is a Non-Executive Director on the Airtel board.


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In a separate decision at the same meeting, the board approved the re-appointment of Nisaba Godrej as an Independent Director of the company for a second term of five years, effective August 4, 2026. Her current term as Independent Director is set to expire on August 3, 2026. The second term will run until August 3, 2031, subject to member approval.

Nisaba Godrej is the Executive Chairperson of Godrej Consumer Products Limited and also sits on the boards of Godrej Industries, Godrej Agrovet, Mahindra and Mahindra, and the Indian School of Business. She holds a BSc from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School. At Airtel, she chairs the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee. She is not related to any other director of the company.

Both re-appointments are pending shareholder approval. The board meeting commenced at 2:00 pm IST and concluded at 5:40 pm IST.