Airtel Africa plc announced on Tuesday the retirement of its chief executive officer, Olusegun “Segun” Ogunsanya, effective from July 1, 2024.
Concurrently, the company has appointed Sunil Taldar as managing director and chief executive officer to succeed Mr. Ogunsanya upon his retirement.
Taldar, who joined Airtel Africa in October 2023 as the director of transformation, will commence the transition to the CEO role while working alongside Ogunsanya.
After a transition period, Taldar will assume the role of CEO and be appointed as an executive director on the board from July 1, 2024. At this time, Ogunsanya will step down from the board and retire from the company.
In a press statement made available to LEADERSHIP, Chairman of Airtel Africa plc, Sunil Bharti Mittal, expressed gratitude to Segun Ogunsanya for his commitment and significant contributions to the company as chief executive, and previously as managing director and CEO of Nigeria, their largest market in Africa.
Mittal said, “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.
“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.
“In respect of the transition period, Segun continues to lead the business very effectively as seen in our financial results. Given that Sunil Taldar has already joined the Group, we are confident that we will have an orderly leadership transition and handover of responsibilities.”
Earlier, Ogunsanya, had expressed his gratitude to the management of Airtel Africa, for giving him the opportunity to transform lives over the period of 12 years of his career at the company.
He said, “It has been a privilege to spend over 12 years of my career at Airtel Africa and I am proud of what we have delivered for customers across Africa. We continue to transform lives. 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. This has been my ambition after a successful career spanning over 35 years in Banking, FMCG and Telecommunications”.
