Sunil Mittal: India's telecom king
Sunil Bharti Mittal is India's telecom czar. The ambitious 50-year-old Mittal is the 6th richest Indian with an accumulated wealth of $12.5 billion. 'Work is love, not stress,' philosophises Mittal, one of India's most successful entrepreneurs.
A self-made billionaire, Mittal once said 'the biggest time of difficulty was passing out of college.' Chairman and managing director of the Bharti Group, his tryst with entrepreneurship began when he was 18. He borrowed Rs 20,000 from his father, politician Sat Pal Mittal, and started making bicycle parts for local manufacturers.
Later, he saw great opportunity in the telecom space. In 1986, he partnered with Siemens to manufacture telephone equipment. Sunil Mittal was the first to introduce push-button phones in India.
In 1995, Bharti Cellular Limited was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name Airtel. Bharti soon became the first telecom company to cross the 2 million mobile subscriber mark. The domestic long-distance and international long-distance cellular call rates became affordable thanks mainly to Mittal.
Today, Bharti Airtel has grown to become India's largest GSM-based mobile phone company with 50 million subscribers. Bharti's next big venture is its retail foray in alliance with the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. Will Mittal replicate his telecom magic?
Sunil Bharti Mittal is India's telecom czar. The ambitious 50-year-old Mittal is the 6th richest Indian with an accumulated wealth of $12.5 billion. 'Work is love, not stress,' philosophises Mittal, one of India's most successful entrepreneurs.
A self-made billionaire, Mittal once said 'the biggest time of difficulty was passing out of college.' Chairman and managing director of the Bharti Group, his tryst with entrepreneurship began when he was 18. He borrowed Rs 20,000 from his father, politician Sat Pal Mittal, and started making bicycle parts for local manufacturers.
Later, he saw great opportunity in the telecom space. In 1986, he partnered with Siemens to manufacture telephone equipment. Sunil Mittal was the first to introduce push-button phones in India.
In 1995, Bharti Cellular Limited was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name Airtel. Bharti soon became the first telecom company to cross the 2 million mobile subscriber mark. The domestic long-distance and international long-distance cellular call rates became affordable thanks mainly to Mittal.
Today, Bharti Airtel has grown to become India's largest GSM-based mobile phone company with 50 million subscribers. Bharti's next big venture is its retail foray in alliance with the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. Will Mittal replicate his telecom magic?
No comments:
Post a Comment