Kumar Mangalam Birla to lead the merged entity

Idea Cellular and Vodafone Group Plc on Thursday announced the proposed leadership team of the combined business, that will have Kumar Mangalam Birla as the non-executive Chairman, while Balesh Sharma (currently Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India) will be the CEO and he will be responsible for the combined business strategy and its execution as well as driving integration.

Vodafone Group Chief Executive, Vittorio Colao, and Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, said "We are pleased to announce the proposed management team for the new company to be created through the merger of Vodafone India and Idea. The team has extensive operational experience and is an excellent blend of expertise from both companies. We look forward to the completion of the merger and competing as one company in the marketplace."

The existing leadership teams of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India will continue to manage their separate businesses and be accountable for each company's operational performance until the merger becomes effective. It is only upon completion of the merger that the two businesses will cease to operate as distinct and competing entities.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Idea, Akshaya Moondra will take charge as CFO of the new company.

Current Deputy managing director of Idea, Ambrish Jain will take charge as Chief Operating Officer of the new company.

Furthermore, Himanshu Kapania and Sunil Sood will continue in their current roles until such time as the merger completes. The commercial, operational and strategic experience of Sunil Sood and Himanshu Kapania are extremely important to both businesses and their support will be invaluable during the initial phase of the integration once the merger completes. Sunil Sood will join the Vodafone Group AMAP Leadership Team and also help governance through Board memberships. The Aditya Birla Group intends to nominate Himanshu Kapania as the non-executive Board member of the merged entity.

This is in line with the original merger announcement of 20 March 2017, which said that the management team of the combined business would be confirmed prior to closing.

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Vodafone and Idea continue to make good progress in securing the required regulatory approvals for the merger, in keeping with the Modi Government's commitment to improving the ease of doing business in India, and completion is expected to be in the first half of the current calendar year.