OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network owned by the UK government, Bharti Global and other strategic investors, has announced the appointment of Srikanth Balachandran as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

He joins from Bharti Global, where he was CFO since October 2018, and prior to that, was CFO of Bharti Airtel for seven years, OneWeb said in a statement.

Also read: OneWeb secures $400-million investment from SoftBank, Hughes

Under his financial stewardship, Airtel engaged in some intense mergers and acquisitions, grew its customer base five-fold to become the world’s number three mobile operator in subscriber numbers, and expanded its operations to 18 countries.

He was closely associated with Airtel’s successful launch and scaling up of the satellite TV business in India and the rapid expansion of Airtel’s Global Business across the globe, the company said.

“Having had the opportunity to work with Srikanth in his most recent role as CFO of Bharti Global, the team at OneWeb has seen first-hand the wealth of experience and expertise he will bring to his new position at OneWeb. He will assume responsibility for helping us deliver our ambitious business plan, securing additional funding and establishing high standards of governance,” Neil Masterson, Chief Executive Officer, OneWeb, said.

Also read: OneWeb launches 36 LEO satellites on Soyuz rocket

Balachandran started his career as a management trainee at Unilever, where he spent 23 years across leadership roles in finance, supply chain and HR in India and the UK. He is a Chartered Accountant and a commerce graduate from the University of Madras.

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