Airtel appoints Vani Venkatesh as CEO – Retail

Bharti Airtel has appointed Vani Venkatesh as CEO – Retail. In her new role, Vani will be responsible for driving Airtel’s retail strategy to deliver a seamless, world-class customer experience across retail touch points.

Vani takes over from Rohit Malhotra, who after spending over nine years with the company in various senior positions, has decided to pursue opportunities outside of Airtel.

Vani brings with her over 19 years of work experience. In her last role, she was responsible for the medical nutrition business at Abbott Healthcare (India). Prior to Abbott Healthcare, she worked with McKinsey & Company, where she led projects across industries, helping her clients to plan and implement successful retail strategies. She began her career with Hindustan Unilever in the finance division. Vani is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. She is also a qualified CA, Cost and Works Accountant and Company Secretary.

Airtel has been investing ahead of the curve to consistently improve experience at customer touch points – both physical and online. The company has revamped and rolled out ‘Company Owned Company Operated’ (COCO) Airtel stores across the country as a one-stop-shop for all customer requirements. Till date over 550 COCO stores in multiple formats have been opened across the country. These COCO stores are supplemented by over 2,400 franchisee retail stores across India.

Airtel also offers convenient online touch points to its customers, who can recharge their pre-paid mobile, DTH accounts and pay post-paid, broadband bills through a unified online interface on the Airtel website and MyAirtel app.