Axis Bank inducts telecom veteran Manoj Kohli as independent director

Axis Bank on Friday said it has inducted telecom sector veteran Manoj Kohli as an additional director on its board for a period of four years till June 2026.

Kohli, 63, is currently the Country Head of SoftBank India, SoftBank Group International. He was previously the MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel.

Based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the board of directors at its meeting held on Friday has appointed Kohli as an additional independent director of the bank for a period of four years till June 16, 2022, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Kohli’s term is subject to shareholders’ approval.

Working with the SoftBank group from 2020, Kohli is supporting over 20 portfolio companies of the Japanese conglomerate and its Vision Fund such as Ola, Oyo, Paytm, Lenskart, Grofers, Snapdeal, WeWork, Delhivery, Uber, Swiggy and Unacademy, among others.

He is responsible for addressing the government, regulatory and public policy issues which help these companies to achieve their full business potential, it said.

Prior to this, he was the executive chairman of SB Energy a SoftBank group company engaged in developing over 5 gigawatt of solar, wind and hybrid projects.

While at the helm of affairs at Bharti Airtel, Kohli was instrumental in building it as the number 3 telecom player in the world from 2 million customers to over 400 million subscribers. PTI