By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Two directors have been appointed to the leadership team of Airtel Nigeria, with an expectation that the appointees will bring about a new era of innovation and growth within the business.
The appointed persons are Ms Kemi Ariyo as the new Director of Information and Technology and Mr Harmanpreet Singh Dhillon as the Director of Network Transformation and Planning.
The chief executive of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Carl Cruz, while commenting on the appointments, said the notably experienced Ms Ariyo would play a pivotal role in driving Airtel Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts and the company is pleased to elevate an excellent female leader within its ranks to the position.
He further stated that Mr Dhillon would spearhead the telecom giant’s network transformation initiatives to strengthen its infrastructure and ensure steady services for subscribers.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kemi and Harmanpreet on board. Their in-depth expertise and experience will be invaluable in driving our technological transformation and delivering exceptional experiences to our over 60 million users.
“We are confident that, with their experience and expertise, Airtel will continue to innovate and stay ahead while developing cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers,” Mr Cruz said.
Mr Dhillon, the company revealed, brings an impressive background experience of over 23 years in the telecommunications industry and a passion for driving technological advancements.
Previously, he had served in various capacities across different organizations, including Vodafone, Nokia, and Huawei, and was Chief Technology Officer at One Airtel in Karnataka, India, where he was responsible for leading the technology strategy, forecasting, expansion, operations, cost optimization, and capex planning for the networks team.
On her part, Ms Ariyo also brings years of cross-industry and cross-continental career experience across the IT value chain with a track record of providing technical solutions geared towards service efficiency, customer experience, and business profitability.
Her contribution to Airtel started from her days as a Business Operations Analyst under the management service at IBM, where she moved into several leadership roles until she fully joined Airtel in 2017.
Recall that Airtel recently completed the first batch of staff promotions for its financial year 2023/24. This promotion cycle saw the elevation of no fewer than 20 employees into senior leadership roles, out of whom three were women, and one out of these women was elevated to a vice president position.
