Ravinder Takkar takes over as Vodafone Idea CEO as Balesh Sharma steps down

• Balesh Sharma has stepped down as CEO of Vodafone Idea.
• Ravinder Takkar will be the new CEO of the company.
• Takkar has been with Vodafone since 1994.

Balesh Sharma, the man who oversaw the merger between Vodafone and Idea — is stepping down from his post as the chief executive officer of the company.

"Under Balesh's stewardship, Vodafone Idea has realised a significant proportion of the synergies in a much shorter timescale than originally estimated. I wish him every success in his next role," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea.

Sharma is credited with making the merger happen within two years, even though the original timeline expected the project to take a total of four years. The merger between the two large telecom players companies had created the country’s largest service provider. Since the merger, Sharma drove the strategy behind the combined businesses and led the largest-ever equity raise in India.

"Balesh will be taking up a new role with Vodafone Group, which will be announced in due course. Ravinder Takkar, currently Vodafone Group’s representative in India, will be appointed as his successor with immediate effect," Vodafone Idea said in a press release.


Takkar had been with Vodafone since 1994 representing the company in various offices around the world like Romania, London. For the past two years he has been in India.