Ravinder Takkar named MD, CEO of Vodafone

New Delhi: Vodafone Idea on Monday said its CEO Balesh Sharma has stepped down due to "personal reasons", a development that comes amidst intense competition in the telecom sector eroding market share and subscriber base of the company.

The company has accepted Sharma's resignation and replaced him with the representative of Vodafone Group, Ravinder Takkar.

Sharma was the representative of Vodafone in the JV between British telecom giant Vodafone and Aditya Birla Group's Idea that was formed to fight the onslaught of free calls and dirt-cheap data plans unleashed by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio.

"The Board of Vodafone Idea Limited today announced that it has accepted Balesh Sharma's request for personal reasons to step down as CEO of Vodafone Idea.

Balesh will be taking up a new role with Vodafone Group, which will be announced in due course," a company statement said.