---
title: India’s Gopal Vittal to chair GSMA Board of Directors - Developing Telecoms
description: The fallout from the recent announcement, reported on these pages, that José Maria Álvares-Pallete had resigned from his position as Chairman & CEO of Telefónica has continued with news that he will not stay in the position of Chair of the GSMA Board of Directors.
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The fallout from the recent announcement, [reported on these pages](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news/17880-telefonica-pushes-out-ceo-amid-shareholder-reshuffle.html), that José Maria Álvares-Pallete had resigned from his position as Chairman & CEO of Telefónica has continued with news that he will not stay in the position of Chair of the GSMA Board of Directors.

“By virtue of this resignation, he is no longer able to continue in the position of the Chair of the GSMA,” the GSMA said. Álvarez-Pallete had been the CEO of Telefonica since April 2016.

The industry organisation, which represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide, added: “The GSMA is grateful for his contribution to the organisation and to the industry overall.”

It continued: “Gopal Vittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel Group and GSMA’s Deputy Chair, will be Acting Chair of the GSMA Board until the Board elects a new chair after MWC Barcelona. Also, we are pleased to share that Mr Marc Murtra, new Chairman & CEO of Telefónica, will represent Telefonica on the GSMA Board with immediate effect.”

Vittal, whose company is the second-biggest operator in India and is a major player in South Asia and Africa, was recently re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of the GSMA board. He has also served the board as a key member for the term 2019-2020.

The GSMA is an industry association that today unites over 1,000 mobile operators and businesses across the ecosystem and related industries. There are 26 members of the GSMA Board, including senior representatives from global operators, as well as smaller independent operators.

[As we reported at the time](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news/17880-telefonica-pushes-out-ceo-amid-shareholder-reshuffle.html), a Telefónica statement explained that Álvarez-Pallete’s contract was terminated following a board meeting on 18 January to align with the company’s “new shareholding structure” and meet the wishes of certain new shareholders for a “new stage” of leadership.

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