New Delhi: Telecom service provider Reliance Communications has appointed Vinod Sawhny as its new CEO. Gurdeep Singh and Punit Garg will continue.
He will be the overall CEO of Reliance Communications. For the first time, Reliance Communications, which is struggling to multiply its revenues, is bringing Indian wireless, enterprise and international businesses under a single CEO.
Sawhny will use the experience of his stint at Bharti Airtel where he held several leadership roles including the member of the Bharti Airtel Management Board, joint president, Airtel Enterprises, executive director and CEO, Airtel Mobility, and president and chief operating officer of Bharti Retail, Reliance Communications said in a statement.
The Bharti Group veteran is joining Reliance Communications at a time when the telecom business has reported a marginal growth in its India revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Further, Reliance Communications said its international revenue dipped 8.3 percent to Rs 1,090 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.
Reliance Communications posted 1.9 percent y-o-y growth in revenue to Rs 5,403 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net profit rose 2.7 percent to Rs 108 crore.
The Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Communications earlier said it would be looking at reducing network costs by 10-12 per cent. Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent are some of Reliance Communications’ telecom equipment vendors in India. The mobile operator wants to reduce consumable cost in batteries / solar power, managed services and IPO co-location of sites.
There will be no change in the role of Gurdeep Singh, the present chief executive at Reliance Communications’ wireless business unit. On the other hand, he will get additional roles.
Singh, who joined Reliance Communications from rival Aircel, will also head satellite television and consumer broadband businesses in his new avatar as CEO of consumer business, representing over 70 per cent of RCOM’s revenues and operating profits.
Punit Garg will continue as CEO of the Indian Enterprise and IDC business.
Bill Barney is the CEO of Reliance Globalcom, comprising Flag Telecom, Vanco and Yipes.
Reliance Communications’ Management Board will include Vinod Sawhny, Gurdeep Singh, Punit Garg, Bill Barney, Suresh Rangachar (President IT and Services), Manikantan Iyer (CFO) and Amit Das (President, HR).
Last month, Reliance Communications reshuffled its top management team and appointed Nilanjan Mukherjee, as the head of CDMA business. Ramesh Menon, who resigned as zonal head of Airtel, became the head of Reliance Communications’ GSM business. Both will report to Gurdeep Singh, CEO of Reliance Communications wireless division.
Meanwhile, Reliance Communications may sell its CDMA business and spectrum which can be used for launching 3G services. This is mainly aimed at reducing its huge debt currently at Rs 41,170 crore, media reports said.
