Bharti Airtel has appointed former cabinet secretary PK Sinha as its independent director

Bharti Airtel has appointed former cabinet secretary PK Sinha as an independent director on its board. Sinha served as cabinet secretary for more than four years and later moved to the prime minister’s office as an adviser. He resigned from that post in March 2021. Bharti Airtel said Sinha was a government-appointed director in many large public sector entities and was well acquainted with the principles of healthy corporate governance.

In addition to Sinha, who has been appointed as an additional director in the capacity of acting independent director on May 18, Airtel has appointed Shyamal Mukherjee, a former chairman and senior partner of PwC, as an independent director effective May 18. Mukherjee is an independent director of the ITC board and also serves as a member of its audit committee.

According to Airtel, Chief Independent Director Manish Kejriwal will retire on September 25 after the expiration of his second term. Shishir Priyadarshi will leave the board from October 31 to give time to his other professional commitments. DK Mittal will be effectively appointed as the Chief Independent Director from 26th September.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel is proud to have one of the most distinguished board of directors committed to high standards of corporate governance. These appointments are made with a long-term vision – to prepare the board for the future, to address the company’s long-term needs, and to ensure smooth transition to key board positions.