Bharti

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises. Founded 50 years back in 1976, Bharti is one of India’s foremost first-generation corporations with interests in Telecom, Space Communications, Digital Infrastructure, Financial Services, Real Estate and Hospitality. Over the years, the Enterprise has built a strong portfolio of joint ventures with global leaders like British Telecom, Singtel, Telecom Italia, Warburg Pincus, Nokia, Ericsson and Google among others, alongside sovereign partners such as the UK and French Governments and the Qatar Investment Authority.

Bharti Airtel, the flagship venture of Bharti Enterprises, is a global telecommunications company with a presence in 17 countries across India, South Asia and Africa. Serving six hundred and fifty million customers, Airtel is the second largest mobile operator in the world (number of customers).

Sunil is also the Co-Chairman of Eutelsat, a global leader in satellite communications and a Director on the Board of BT Group Plc, the UK’s leading fixed and mobile communications provider. Bharti is the largest private shareholder in both these companies.

In recognition of his contribution to business and economy, Sunil was bestowed with the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors, awarded to individuals for demonstrating distinguished services. He has been conferred as the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) making him the first Indian citizen to receive this recognition from HM King Charles III.

Sunil has served as the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Chairman of GSMA concurrently from 2016 - 2018. He has been a Trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 2009 - 2021. Through India’s G20 Presidency in 2023, Sunil steered the B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration as its Chair. Currently, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the Global Board of Advisors at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Member on Hakluyt’s International Advisory Board. In the past, he has served as a Commissioner of the ITU and on the boards of several multinational companies including Unilever PLC, Standard Chartered Bank and SoftBank Corp.

Over the years, Sunil has been honoured with several awards by prominent business forums and media houses in India and internationally, such as the GSM Association’s (GSMA) Lifetime Achievement Award—a rare honour reserved for individuals with extraordinary and enduring contributions to the global mobile ecosystem. Earlier, in 2008, he was honoured with the GSMA’s prestigious Chairman’s Award. Sunil is also recipient of Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award and has been conferred Honorary Doctorates by several leading universities in India, the UK and Europe.

Sunil is closely associated with spearheading the Indian industry’s global trade and investments initiatives. He has served on the Prime Minister of India’s Council on Trade and Industry and was also President of the Confederation of Indian Industry from 2007-2008. He is Co-Chair of the India-UK CEO Forum as well as the India-Africa Business Council and has been contributing to India’s global business priorities as a member of various forums, including India-US, India-Japan and India-Sweden CEO Forums. Sunil is also a Principal at the World Bank Group’s Private Sector Investment Lab.

His academic engagements include roles on Harvard University’s Global Advisory Council, the Vice Chancellor’s Circle of Advisors at the University of Cambridge, and as Chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Board at Plaksha University. He is one of the Promoters of the School of Ultimate Leadership and has previously served on the Governing & Advisory bodies of leading global institutions including Harvard Business School, London Business School, the London School of Economics, IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow and Indian School of Business.

Sunil’s firm belief that a responsible corporate has a duty to give back meaningfully to the community led to the inception of the Bharti Airtel Foundation. The Foundation currently runs over 150 Satya Bharti Schools and supports over 1,000 government schools under its Quality Support Program to ensure access to holistic, excellent education. As Chairman of the Foundation, he has further embedded this vision through the Foundation’s various initiatives to make world-class higher education available to meritorious young scholars across India and Africa.