COAI appoints Marten Pieters as chairman

GSM lobby group COAI has appointed Marten Pieters, Vodafone India's managing director and chief executive officer, as the  new  chairman.

Besides, the association has named Gopal Vittal, managing director and chief executive officer (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel, as the vice-chairman.

The Cellular Association of India (COAI) announced this in its annual general body meeting on July 14, 2014.

COAI also designated its Executive Council for the new term at the meeting.

Pieters holds over three decades of professional experience in international and domestic markets and has served in senior positions in various organizations.

 

In his address as the new chairman of COAI, he said: “In the recent past, India’s growth story fuelled by the telecom sector has been going through a challenging policy and regulatory environment.

While the Industry is witnessing low profit margins, primarily due to high debt paid to finance 3G and BWA auction held couple of years ago, the sector also underwent a series of unprecedented events and policy reversals. After years of uncertainty and policy paralysis, we are expecting a definitive roadmap for the telecom sector from the new government in the Centre.”

With over 25 years of experience in telecom and consumer goods (FMCG) industries, Vittal is the new vice-chairman of COAI.

Rajan S Mathews, director-general,  COAI,  extended  his  heartfelt  gratitude  to  Himanshu  Kapania,  the  outgoing  chairman  of  COAI  and also welcomed the new leadership and congratulated them for accepting their positions at the helm of the association for the coming term.

Kapania said: “It has been my privilege to have led the dialogue with various stakeholders, on behalf of the association, for the past two years which have seen transformational changes in the telecom landscape. I wish Marten Pieters and Gopal Vittal the best as they take over the new leadership of COAI at this critical juncture. My best wishes to Rajan Mathews and the team to continue the good work and accelerate the pace of the journey the Association members have taken for transforming the lives of Indian consumers and benefiting the Indian society.”