Qualcomm Appoints BlackBerry's Sunil Lalvani as Head of India Operations

Mobile chip maker Qualcomm said it has appointed former BlackBerry India and Saarc MD Sunil Lalvani as the president of its India operations.

He succeeds Avneesh Agrawal, senior vice-president and president of Qualcomm India and South Asia. Agrawal, who has been granted 159 US patents, is moving on to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions.

Lalvani's appointment will be effective July 27 and he will report directly to Cristiano Amon, executive vice-president and co-president, Qualcomm Technologies (QTI), Qualcomm said in a statement.

With over 20 years of experience, Lalvani has also worked with EMC Corporation, Nokia Corporation, Cisco Systems and SITA Equant Network (now Orange Business Services).

"I am pleased to welcome Sunil Lalvani as vice-president (of QTI) and president of Qualcomm India. His broad industry experience and extensive leadership experience will enable us strengthen existing strategic relationships, identify new opportunities for business growth and build new relationships in India," Amon said.

Lalvani joins Qualcomm at a time, when the company is undertaking a massive restructuring globally.

Last week, Qualcomm announced that it will slash 15 percent of its global head count and eliminate about $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 8,340 crores) in spending as it looks to increase resources in "lower-cost regions".

Qualcomm has five engineering centres and offices in India in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.