Sunil Bharti Mittal - Entrepreneur Profile

BACKGROUND:

Family support:

Sunil Bharti Mittal, born October 23, 1957 is an Indian businessman. He is the chairman and managing director of the Bharti group. The $4.5 billion turnover company runs India's largest GSM-based mobile phone service.

Sunil's father, Sat Paul Mittal, an MP, was always in public life. It was Sunil who started in business (making cycle parts in Ludhiana, India) in 1976 at the age of 18 with borrowed capital of Rs 20,000.The son of a politician, Sunil Mittal is a Punjabi. He has built the Bharti group, along with two siblings, into India's largest mobile phone operator in just ten years.15 years back, his company, Bharti Telecom, was a manufacturer of telephones of the push-button variety, and made its money by supplying to the Department of Telecommunications (DOT). Detractors allege that it was the family's political connections that helped it land the DOT contract.

Achievements:

IT Man of the Year Award 2002 from Dataquest CEO Of the Year, 2002 Award from World HRD Congress. Today, Sunil Mittal runs a successful empire with a market capitalization of approximately $ 2 billion and employing over 5,000 people. He has been honored with several awards. Sunil Bharti Mittal was chosen as one of the top entrepreneurs in the world for the year 2000 and amongst 'Stars Of Asia', by 'Business Week'.

First generation entrepreneur.

Education: Sunil a former student of Harvard Business School, graduated from Punjab University. He had shown an interest in business even from his teenage days.

Previous trading experience: Started off as an entrepreneur immediately after graduation, trading in various merchandises.

Skills required: Hands on behavior, Risk taking behavior, futuristic, innovative, insightful, internal locus of control, opportunist, persistent.

IDEA GENERATION:

Innovation made by the entrepreneur: Sunil Mittal can be called as originator of cellular phone revolution in India

Discover idea/opportunity: Sunil Mittal got interested in push button phones while on a trip to Taiwan, and in 1982, introduced the phones to India, replacing the old fashioned, bulky rotary phones that were in use in the country then. Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) was incorporated and entered into a technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany for manufacture of electronic push button phones. By the early 1990s, Mittal was making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear. The turning point came in 1992 when the Indian government was awarding licenses for mobile phone services for the first time.

Decision of becoming entrepreneur: . He had shown an interest in business even from his teenage days. So after graduation, Sunil got together with his friend and formed a small bicycle business with borrowed capital in the1970s. But by 1979, he realized that this business would remain small. So he moved out of Ludhiana, spent a few years in Mumbai and in 1981, was running an import and distribution operation out of New Delhi and Mumbai. Sunil Mittal was the first mover and