Rajeev Sethi joins Robi as Chief Executive Officer

Dhaka, 3 October 2022: The Board of Directors of Robi Axiata Limited has appointed Rajeev Sethi as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Sethi joins Robi following notable success in turning around Myanmar’s leading mobile operator, Ooredoo, as its CEO. Prior to that he has successfully served as the Chief Commercial Officer of Airtel for Africa.

He will be replacing M. Riyaaz Rasheed, who has been serving as Robi’s Acting Chief Executive Officer since August, 2021. Rasheed will now focus on his role as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Joint Acting Group CEOs of Axiata Group Berhad, Dr 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.”

Dr. Wijayasuriya, also lauded Robi’s erstwhile Acting CEO and CFO, M. Riyaaz Rasheed’s accomplishments in delivering on business objectives despite a challenging macro-economic environment. “Riyaaz played the critical anchor role in bringing the Robi team together during these most challenging times and furthermore succeeded in delivering excellent business results during the five quarters he was at the helm. He leaves in Rajeev’s hands an organisation well positioned for the next wave of growth”, opined Dr Wijayasuriya.

Rajeev is an accomplished executive possessing a wealth of domestic and international experience of leading organizations in both startup and established stage with a strong track record of excelling in dynamic and demanding environment.

On assuming the role of Robi’s CEO, Rajeev 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 significant gain in market share in the coming days.”

Rajeev has significant ICT industry experience, including executive engagements in companies such as Vodafone, HP, Hutchison Telecom and Asian Paints. Sethi received an MBA in Marketing, Finance and Operations from the Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow.

Rajeev is no stranger to Bangladesh, as he had earlier served as the Chief Executive Officer of Telenor’s subsidiary, Grameenphone Limited.