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Gopal Vittal

b. 1967

Businessperson

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About Gopal Vittal

Born 1967. Gopal Vittal is an Indian entrepreneur.

Career After graduating from IIM Calcutta in 1990, he joined Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), one of India's biggest FMCG companies. Early in his career at HUL, he did two stints as an Area Sales Manager, and worked in Brooke Bond and several skincare brands. One of his biggest achievements in HUL was Project Bharat, a successful rural-reach strategy that incentivized people in rural areas to try HUL's products.

In 2006, he was roped in by Sunil Mittal (founder and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises) to join Bharti Airtel as the head of marketing. His first stint at Airtel lasted only two years, till 2008. During this period, he redefined the relationship between operations and marketing in the organization, and changed Bharti's marketing strategy to cater to the mass market. His other major achievements during this period included segmenting customers to develop targeted offerings, and bundling mobile handsets with Airtel offers.

In 2008, Vittal was persuaded to return to HUL by its CEO, Nitin Paranjpe. He was reappointed head of the home and personal care (HPC) businesses and given a board seat, superseding several company executives. In the period before Vittal, HPC businesses were growing at only 5-6 percent per annum at HUL. Vittal turned around the businesses, and between 2008 and 2012, the segment grew at a compounded annual rate of 14.7 per cent. Vittal, who was seen in HUL as second only to Paranjpe, left the company again in early 2012, a few months before the latter received a five-year extension as CEO.

In early 2012, Vittal re-joined Bharti Airtel, as a Director in charge of special projects and international business strategy. He spent most of 2012 and early 2013 at Singtel. In early 2013, Airtel announced that Vittal would be the next CEO of Airtel India. He took over as the CEO on 1 March 2013.

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Important facts

Born
1967
Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Madras Christian College

People in Gopal Vittal's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Gopal Vittal's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Gopal Vittal?

businessperson

When was Gopal Vittal born?

Gopal Vittal was born in 1967.

What is Gopal Vittal's occupation?

Gopal Vittal is an entrepreneur.

What nationality is Gopal Vittal?

Gopal Vittal is Indian.

Sources & further reading

Β· Wikipedia: Gopal Vittal

Β· Wikidata: Q17071931

Β· DBpedia: Gopal Vittal

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Gopal Vittal. https://biography.guide/gopal-vittal/

MLA: "Gopal Vittal." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/gopal-vittal/.

Chicago: "Gopal Vittal." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/gopal-vittal/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 Β· Spot an error? Report a correction.

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