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After three years, ex-Telenor chief Jon Fredrik Baksaas will step down at the end of 2016.
The GSMA has elected a new chair in Bharti Enterprise founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, who will begin his two-year tenure in January 2017.
The industry group has also re-elected Mari-Noëlle Jego-Laveissiere, EVP of innovation at Orange, as deputy chair.
Mittal becomes the first Indian to hold the position; it will be his job to oversee the industry group’s strategic direction until his term ends at the end of 2018.
"I am delighted to be elected as chairman of the GSMA, and look forward to working closely with the rest of the board, the GSMA leadership team and our entire membership to address the critical issues facing our industry and our customers," Mittal said, in a statement last week.
Mittal will take over from former Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas, who will step down at the end of 2016 after three years in the role.
"I am excited about what the next chapter holds for us, as we work to connect everyone and everything to a better future. In my new global role, I am also excited to support the ongoing mobile broadband revolution in India to boost the government’s Digital India Programme and its vision of broadband access for all," he added.
Mittal will need to juggle his GSMA job with the raft of other roles he fulfils at various other bodies. He serves on the board and councils of the World Economic Forum (WEF), he is chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), he sits on the telecom board of the ITU, as well as the Broadband Commission – which is overseen by the ITU and UNESCO.
Not only that, Mittal also holds advisory roles Harvard University, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council.
