Dinesh Balsingh Becomes Airtel Nigeria CEO as Carl Cruz Resigns

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Airtel Africa Plc has appointed Mr Dinesh Balsingh as the new chief executive of Airtel Networks Limited, also known as Airtel Nigeria, following the resignation of Mr Carl Cruz.

Mr Cruz is exiting the position to return to the Philippines, a statement from Airtel Africa Plc confirmed.

Also, the board of the Nigerian subsidiary of the leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services disclosed that Mr Alfa Belgore is leaving his post as the chairman of the board after his 10-year tenure.

Business Post learned that the firm with a presence in 14 countries across Africa is replacing him with Mrs Awuneba Ajumogobia, a non-executive director of Airtel Africa, who is expected to bring an impartial judgement to issues of strategy, performance and resources.

She is armed with considerable experience in assurance, taxation, finance and advisory services across a range of industries in Nigeria.

The telco has appreciated Mr Belgore’s years of service and contribution to Airtel Nigeria’s strategic role in the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

The chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, while reacting to the appointments, said, “Mrs Ajumogobia’s experience and contribution to the Airtel Africa Plc board will be extremely beneficial for Airtel Nigeria, and the Board looks forward to working with her.

He also stated that, “Mr Balsingh’s deep telecommunications experience and strong operational execution, combined with his knowledge of the Nigerian market, will be instrumental in further supporting our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Nigeria.”

The new CEO has extensive experience across the telecommunications industry and returns to Nigeria following his appointment as the CEO of Airtel Tanzania in 2022.

Prior to his move to Tanzania, he served as the Chief Commercial Officer at Airtel Nigeria and therefore brings with him considerable experience in the Nigerian telecommunications market.

Mr Balsingh’s career in the telecommunications industry spans over 24 years having begun his career in 2000 with Hutchison Essar, before moving to Airtel India as a Marketing Director in 2006 and then Tata Docomo in 2011. Mr Balsingh joined Airtel Nigeria as Marketing Director in 2013, before taking over as Chief Commercial Officer in 2018.