Bharti Airtel, commonly known as Airtel, a leading global telecommunications services provider, has appointed Rajeev Sethi (pictured, right) the chief commercial officer for its Africa operations.

Sethi will report to Raghunath Mandava, MD and CEO for Airtel Africa. In his new role, Sethi will be responsible for the formulation and implementation of customer-centric commercial strategies across all 15 African countries where Airtel operates, the firm said in a press release.

His key focus will be across consumer and enterprise businesses, covering products and pricing, distribution, brand and customer experience, said Mandava while announcing the appointment. "We welcome Sethi to the Airtel Africa team. With his vast experience across a range of developing markets, he will contribute immensely in accelerating our growth journey. I am confident that Sethi will take the Airtel brand to greater heights,” he added.

Sethi has over 21 years of diverse experience across several sectors, such as telecom, IT, paints and petroleum.

He has worked with Telenor group, where he served for over seven years, and his last assignment was with Grameen Phone, the largest operator in Bangladesh, as chief executive officer. Sethi holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and is an electrical engineer from Gujarat University.