Robi gets new CEO

Robi Axiata Ltd, the second-largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, has appointed Rajeev Sethi as its new chief executive officer.

The operator made the disclosure in a post on the Dhaka Stock Exchange today.

Robi has been without a full-time CEO since August last year when Mahtab Uddin Ahmed Robi stepped down from his position.

Since then Robi Chief Financial Officer Riyaaz Rasheed had been serving the company as the acting CEO.

Sethi, a former CEO of Grameenphone, took the charge this month.

In a press release, Joint Acting Group CEOs of Axiata Group Berhad, Hans Wijayasuriya and Vivek Sood said: "On behalf of the Axiata Group Management, we take great pleasure in welcoming Rajeev to the Robi family.

"With market leadership in 4G and digital innovation, Robi is now well-poised for its next wave of growth. At this point in Robi's journey, we are very happy to have a widely regarded prolific growth driver like Rajeev Sethi taking on the leadership role of Robi."

"As the company prepares to celebrate its 25th year of operation, Rajeev's leadership will certainly generate fresh momentum for Robi's competitive strides in the Bangladesh market."

On assuming the role of Robi's CEO, Sethi said: "I am very excited to have the privilege of working with the leading digital company of Bangladesh, Robi Axiata Limited."

"Over the years, it has truly evolved into a digital telco that thrives on innovation. The best part is that the culture of innovation is deeply entrenched in Robi which bodes well for future growth. I am very confident that with the support of the team Robi, we can make a significant gain in market share in the coming days."

He has significant ICT industry experience, including executive engagements in companies such as Vodafone, HP, Hutchison Telecom and Asian Paints.

Sethi joins Robi following notable success in turning around Myanmar's leading mobile operator, Ooredoo, as its CEO.

He received an MBA in Marketing, Finance and Operations from the Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow.

In July, Robi has 5.48 crore mobile phone subscribers in a market of 18.40 crore, just behind market leader Grameenphone, which has 8.4 crore subscribers, data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission showed.

Shares of Robi, however, were unchanged at Tk 30 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange at the time of filing of this report at 12:45 pm.