Kumar Mangalam Birla has stepped down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman of Vodafone Idea (VIL), the company said yesterday. Himanshu Kapania, a nominee of the Aditya Birla Group, has been appointed as Birla’s replacement. The changes come at a time when VIL is struggling to stay afloat. “The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea, at its meeting held on Wednesday, has accepted the request of Kumar Mangalam Birla to step down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman of the Board with effect from close of business hours on 4 August, 2021,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Consequently, the board has “unanimously elected” Himanshu Kapania, currently a non-executive director, as the non-executive chairman, the company said. Kapania is a telecom industry veteran with 25 years of experience, including significant board experience in telecom companies globally.
He has also served on the Global GSMA Board for two years and was also chairman of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) for two years. “Further, based on recommendation of Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Board has appointed Sushil Agarwal, a nominee of Aditya Birla Group, as an additional director (non-executive and non-independent) with effect from 4 August, 2021,” VIL added.
Last month, Birla wrote to the Centre offering to hand over his stake in Vodafone-Idea to any public sector entity considering the “looming crisis” before the telecom operator. After Birla's letter became public, the shares of Vodafone-Idea tumbled over 16% on August 4.
In his letter to Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Birla had said that investors were not willing to put money in the company in the absence of clarity on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liability, an adequate moratorium on spectrum payments and most importantly floor pricing regime above the cost of service.
“It is with a sense of duty towards the 27 crore Indians connected by VIL, I am more than willing to hand over my stake in the company to any entity- public sector/government/domestic financial entity or any other that the Government may consider worthy of keeping the company as a going concern,” Birla, who holds around 27% stake in the Vi, wrote.
ReplyReply allForward
