Air India Names P Balaji Chief of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs
Air India, owned by the Tata Group, has named P Balaji to the newly established position of 'group head- governance, regulatory, compliance (GRC), and corporate affairs.' This announcement came shortly after reports emerged of Balaji's resignation from his role as the director of regulatory and corporate affairs at Vodafone Idea. Balaji is set to assume his role at Air India on January 11, the company stated in a press release. "He will report to Air India CEO & MD, Campbell Wilson and will oversee the Government Affairs, Legal, Ethics, Sustainability, and Corporate Communications functions at Air India, among others", the release said.
Having served Vodafone Idea for a decade, Balaji submitted his resignation and is scheduled to be relieved on January 10, according to a regulatory filing by the mobile network operator. It was expected that he would transition to Air India after departing from his current position. With a wealth of experience exceeding 30 years in the Telecom & IT Sector, Balaji's return to Tata marks a full circle in his career, as Tata Administrative Services is where he initially started.
Speaking on the announcement, CEO Wilson said, "We are pleased to have Balaji on board. Having worked in the regulatory and policy space, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be valuable to the ongoing transformation at Air India. At Air India, we remain committed to building top leadership as we continue to invest in all the resources that are required to take the airline to the upper echelons of global aviation".
In his resignation letter to Vodafone-Idea, Balaji had requested a waiver of his notice period. "I would like to resign from the services of the company with immediate effect. I shall be grateful if the company releases me from my responsibilities as soon as possible and waives the contractual notice period obligation", he said. Possessing an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Balaji has a professional history with esteemed organizations such as Sony Ericsson India and Nokia India.
