Tata Communications names Kabir Ahmed Shakir as CFO

Tata Communications on Tuesday announced appointment of Kabir Ahmed Shakir as Chief Financial Officer with effect from October 21.

Shakir will take charge from Pratibha K Advani who has resigned from the company after a stint of over 5 years.

"Tata Communications has appointed Kabir Ahmed Shakir as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Kabir will join on October 21, 2020, and will be responsible for the strategic financial management of the company, including investor relations," the company said in a statement.

Until recently, Shakir was CFO at Microsoft India.

"I am pleased to welcome Kabir into the leadership team at Tata Communications. Kabir brings with him extensive functional expertise together with deep understanding of digital businesses and startups," Tata Communications MD and CEO A S Lakshminarayanan said in a statement.

Shakir has nearly three decades of leadership experience in strategic financial management with a sharp focus on growth, strong business processes, and operational execution across diverse industries and geographies.

"As the company looks to implement the new vision to be a global leader in enabling digital ecosystems, Shakir's experience will be valuable in driving transformation programmes as well as profitable and sustainable growth for the company," Lakshminarayanan said.

Prior to Microsoft, Shakir spent 23 years with Unilever in leadership roles across the globe - as International Funding Director in the Netherlands, global supply chain finance director in the UK, CFO of the home and personal care business in India and global CFO for the skincare category in the UK.

"I am very excited to join Tata Communications. The company has shown remarkable business performance which is being recognised by the market and key stakeholders. Tata Communications has a clear, ambitious strategy and a strong leadership team. I look forward to building on the company's financial strategy and delivering value to shareholders," Shakir said.