From India?s telecom king, Sunil Bharti Mittal has become the global telecom czar. The acquisition of Zain Africa has truly transformed him from a man credited with connecting millions in the country to the one poised to make the world smaller. Sunil carved out the country?s largest telecom empire right from the scratch in a period spanning 15 years making his case study a compulsory read for B-school students as well as aspirants.
Sunil started his career at 18 after graduating from Punjab University in 1976.
Today, at 53, he heads an enterprise which employs over 30,000 people. Bharti Airtel, the flagship group company, has a market capitalisation of around $25 billion.
A typically small town graduate who wasn?t expected to make it this big in a market dominated by family-run corporate houses, Sunil always had odds against him but he was successful in proving his detractors wrong. Today, no one understands the telecom business better than him and this was amply proved when the share prices of his company started nose diving on concerns that Zain was overpriced. It just took a statement from Sunil for the trend to reverse!
He?s not just credited with building India?s largest and most successful telecom firm but also the most professional one with the best managerial talent.
For long, it was assumed that he would finally cash out what with astronomical valuations his telecom firms commanded. There have also been speculation about his entering politics, but Sunil has not only stuck to his dreams but expanded beyond the domestic frontiers. With the Zain buy Sunil once again needs to reignite his initial passion for being successful in business for the challenges that lie ahead is equally if not more formidable than the initial challenge.