Sunil Taldar named Airtel Africa's CEO

Airtel Africa, the wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, has appointed Sunil Taldar as the chief executive officer of its operations. The development comes with the telecom major announced the retirement of the current chief executive Olesegun “Segun” Ogunsanya, with effect from July 1.

Taldar, who will assume the role of the managing director and chief executive of the group from July 1, joined the Africa group in October 2023 as Director, Transformation.

“The Board is delighted to appoint Sunil Taldar as the Group's next chief executive officer. His industry experience, strategic vision, constant customer focus and proven record of delivery will enable him to deliver our strategic objectives and to lead the Group in the next stages of its development,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Airtel Africa said in a statement.


Going forward, Ogunsanya — who led the company’s Nigeria operations and mobile money business for nine years before being appointed as CEO of the group in 2021 — will become the Airtel Africa Charitable Foundation’s inaugural chair, the company said.

Under Ogunsanya’s leadership, Airtel’s Africa unit was made a part of the coveted FTSE 100 Index effective in January 2022, which was significant milestone in just two-and-a-half years of its listing on the London Stock Exchange.

“Now is the right time for me to handover to a new leader who can build on Airtel Africa’s strengths and deliver on the significant opportunities ahead as I pursue my renewed interest in the empowerment of Africans through digital and financial inclusion in a different capacity beyond the boundaries of for-profit organizations,” Ogunsanya said.

In July 2022, a few months after Ogunsanya had assumed the reins, Airtel Africa inked a deal to sell roughly a 7.5% stake in its mobile money unit to Qatar Holding LLC, an affiliate of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), for around $200 million.

Ogunsanya will also be available to advise the chairman, the Airtel Africa Board, and chief executive officer for a 12-month period, the company added.

“I am pleased Segun has agreed, following his retirement, to assume the new role as Chair of the Airtel Africa Charitable Foundation, where he will bring his visionary leadership to this new philanthropic initiative to advance development and prosperity across Africa. Segun will retire from the Board with our very best wishes and sincere appreciation for everything he has achieved,” Mittal said.