Gopal Vittal, vice chairman and managing director, Bharti Airtel has been elected chairman of the board of Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). He is the second Indian to take charge of the post after Sunil Mittal.
In February this year, Vittal took over as the acting chair in light of the the resignation of José Maria Álvares-Pallete, chairman and chief executive officer, Telefónica from the company, which consequently meant he could no longer continue in the position of the chair of the GSMA.
“The mobile industry contributed $6.5 trillion to the global economy in 2024 and is the spine on which much of the innovation in the world is built. The GSMA, as a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem, is fundamental to discover, develop and deliver innovation that impacts positive change for all,” Vittal said.
Vittal’s terms as chairman of GSMA will be till the end of 2026.
Before taking on the role of acting chair, Vittal was the deputy chair at GSMA. He has also served the board as a key member for the term 2019-2020.
GSMA represents the global telecommunications industry and has around 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 organizations in adjacent industry sectors as its members.
