Ola names India’s former envoy to China as advisor

NEW DELHI: Strengthening its advisory board, Ola, one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, on Wednesday named former envoy to China Gautam Bambawale as Senior Advisor for Corporate and International Affairs. A retired bureaucrat, civil servant and executive, Gautam has played multiple diplomatic roles during his 34-year career with the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

Following Dr S Jaishankar (current foreign minister), Bambawale is the 2nd IFS officer taking a leading position in India’s private corporate sector.

He has served as India’s Ambassador to Bhutan and China as well as the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan between 2016 and 2017. Bambawale also held a number of positions where he was directly involved with advancing India’s relations with Japan, China, and South Korea amongst other countries.