The Board of Airtel Networks Kenya Limited has appointed Louis Onyango Otieno as Chairman and Ashish Malhotra as Managing Director to jointly oversee the firm’s next phase of growth.
Louis Onyango Otieno has over 30 years of experience in ICT across private and public sectors and sits on numerous influential boards. Mr. Otieno serves as Chairman of Absa Asset Management Limited. He is also an independent non-executive director at Absa Bank Kenya Plc and Nation Media Group Plc.
Mr. Otieno began his career at EEC Financial Services in New York, rising to the position of Assistant Vice President. He later joined Microsoft Corporation in 1997, leading the business in Africa in multiple capacities for 21 years.
Ashish Malhotra was previously the Group Head of Sales and Marketing at Airtel Africa, leading the function in all 14 countries where Airtel is operational.
In this role, Mr. Malhotra was instrumental in doubling revenues, streamlining pricing principles and building strong unique selling strategies across the countries.
He holds an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), India and a Bachelor of Commerce from Sri Ram College of Commerce, India.
Mr. Malhotra takes over for Mr. Prasanta Das Sarma, who has held the position since January 2017. Mr. Das Sarma was instrumental in making Airtel Kenya the fastest growing telecom company in Kenya, growing its subscriber base from 5 million to 16 million. Mr. Das Sarma is moving to a new role as the Fiber Company CEO for Airtel Africa.
“We wish to congratulate Mr. Otieno and Mr. Malhotra on their appointment and wish them success in their new roles. We look forward to working with them to take Airtel Kenya to the next level, as we continue delivering innovative and relevant solutions for individuals and businesses in the country,” the Board announced in a statement.