Balesh is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and Mayo College. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Engineering College, Kota and an MBA from Podar Institute of Management in Jaipur, India.

Balesh was appointed to the role of Managing Director and executive director of Vodacom South Africa with effect from 1 September 2020. Balesh was previously the Director of Special Projects for the Vodafone Group, where he supported the roll out of a new telecom operation in Oman and was tasked with driving the COVID-19 response for Vodafone’s African markets. Previously, he was CEO of Vodafone Idea and the Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India. He successfully oversaw the integration of Vodafone Idea and drove the strategy and execution of the combined business, delivering substantial synergies in the very first year post merger.

Balesh has been with Vodafone Group for over 17 years and in the past he has held various senior management positions including CEO Vodafone Czech Republic and CEO Vodafone Malta.

Before joining Vodafone group Balesh has worked for Hutchison, BPL Mobile, Xius, DCM, Ricoh and Xerox.