Basketball Federation of India appoints Roopam Sharma as new CEO

During their Annual General Meeting held on March 11, 2012, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) appointed Roopam Sharma as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Sharma takes on the helm after the unexpected demise of former CEO and her husband Harish Sharma last month.

Roopam Sharma’s appointment as CEO was decided by the steering committee members of the BFI. Soon after her appointment, the new CEO assured all members that she would continue to perform the tasks that her husband has left unfulfilled. In a statement made on Tuesday, Sharma said, “I will carry forward the unfinished tasks of my husband in improving the standards of basketball in the country as passionately as he did.”

Sharma is a Deputy General Manager with Air India (ground handling). She has experience in marketing and organisation and had been associated with both FIBA and FIBA Asia to help them execute day-to-day affairs for the BFI.

Talking about her mission and plans for the BFI, Sharma added that she will discuss matters with those connected with the BFI family, including state affiliates, coaches, technical staff, and BFI functionaries, before concretising anything.

“It was my husband’s vision to put the game on a high pedestal and he had already taken basketball to a new level by signing a long-term deal with IMG-Reliance. Now it will be my endeavour to take the game to even bigger heights with the help of my colleagues at the BFI.

Sharma has also hoped that her experience in marketing will help her stand in good stead and she would make efforts to generate revenue to help run the BFI professionally. This was one aspect that her predecessor Harish Sharma had managed particularly well over his years as the BFI’s Secretary-General and then its CEO.

“The challenges are enormous,” said Roopam Sharma, “But with my experience, having been associated with the game as an organiser of the Master Prithvi Nath Sharma Memorial Basketball Championships, and the inputs that Harish had shared with me, I will be able to meet them.”