Airtel Uganda’s long serving Managing Director (MD) V.G Somasekhar, has today resigned his position in the top telecom company, this publication has learnt. In an email this afternoon, Raghunath Venkateswarlu Mandava the Airtel Africa CEO, broadcasted the message to staff that the MD will no longer be working with the company.
Titled: “Resignation Of V.G Somasekhar: Managing Director – Uganda“, the email written by Mr. Raghu said; “VG Somasekhar (Soma), Managing Director of Airtel Uganda Limited has expressed his desire to move to India and as such resigned from his current job, but will be associated with the Bharti, Airtel Group on his return to India.
The two-time Airtel Uganda MD came back to Airtel Africa in August 2017. He was first MD for Airtel Uganda between 2010 and 2014, and was reassigned to Bharti Airtel Group –later bouncing back in September 2017. Somasekhar has helped build Airtel Uganda Limited into a strong brand and into the company that it is today. He has been instrumental in rolling out the company’s 4G across the country and also recently launched Airtel TV app among other things.
Somasekhar will be remembered as the MD who turned the company to profitability. By end of 2018 when Airtel’s turnover grew 5% from UGX 1.16 trillion in 2017 to UGX 1.21 trillion and net profit grew much healthier- an impressive 38%- from UGX 245 billion to UGX 338.1 billion ahead of MTN’s UGX220 billion on a gross UGX 1.6 trillion in revenue, making Airtel, Uganda’s most profitable telecom company.
He also the spearhead of the acquisition of Warid Telecom in April 2013. Somasekhar and his Airtel team reported a $120 million buy off of Warid Assets and licenses a move that turned Airtel into a stronger No.2 behind MTN Uganda.
