NEW DELHI: Bharti Enterprises on Tuesday effected top-level organizational changes, elevating Gopal Vittal to head Airtel's operations in India and South Asia. Vittal is currently Airtel's joint MD & CEO for India.

Manoj Kohli will relinquish his position as MD & CEO (international) of Bharti Airtel and will take over as MD of Bharti Enterprises to lead the oversight of all non-telecom businesses of the group - retail, insurance, food & agri, realty and others.

The company said the new set-up - effective from April - is designed to provide enhanced empowerment to top management teams and to further strengthen corporate governance.

Akhil Gupta has been designated as chairman of Bharti Infratel and vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises and will serve on other Bharti boards whereas Bharti Infratel CEO D S Rawat has also been made the MD.

The company said under the new structure, Bharti Corporate Office will deal with matters of governance. Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and three vice chairmen, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Rajan Bharti Mittal and Akhil Gupta, along with Kohli and four Bharti veterans, will form the Bharti Governance Board (BGB).

"This is another step towards transforming the group from entrepreneur-led professional-backed to a professional-led entrepreneur-backed one. I wish my very best to the chosen leaders in their respective new roles," Mittal said.

As part of the restructuring, Airtel's Bangladesh and Sri Lanka operations are being brought back under South Asia, headed by Vittal. Christian de Faria will be appointed by Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV as MD and CEO (Africa), and will assume full operational responsibility of the company's operations across 17 African geographies.