Test

This man is changing the script in Malaysia's hottest market sector! ADOI unearths the mystery and charisma of this reluctant star who is taking Malaysia's largest mobile operator to a new relevance in this blistering interview… PDF Print E-mail

1

2

3

4

5

(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

WHEN SANDIP DAS SPOKE AT LAST November's Fast-Forward Conference organized by ADOI, there was a deafening silence at the Sime Darby Convention Centre Hall which was packed with almost 300 industry participants. Obviously,

From left: Allan Khoo (Head of Branding), Sandip and Denise Tambuatco (GM, Strategic Marketing)

not many had heard him talk before and Sandip did not disappoint them but rather excelled with his profound insights and layman perspectives of how the world around us is changing. As the eager audience hung on his every word, ADOI decided we were going to nail him for a cover story, come what may.

It was not the easiest thing in the world to get a date with Maxis Chief Sandip Das, let alone interview him. First off, he's a naturally shy person, having kept a respectably low profile for the past year he's been in Malaysia. And for the most part, Sandip's purview is also beyond Malaysian shores, which keeps him in the air most times. But as tenacious as ADOI can be, we were on his case for almost half a year. Finally, Sandip relented to a one-to-one interview, his first major story in the Malaysia media!

But Sandip was still as bashful as ever when we spoke to him at length recently. Considering the fact that he is not a stranger to fame, having built one of India's largest mobile operators, Hutch, from the ground up and notching 23 million subscribers (the total number of mobile subscribers in Malaysia now!) by the time he left, we were amazed with his reticence to be in the spotlight. And this is the man who was voted CEO of the Year by Mid Day Publications and won The Most Respected Telecom Company award by Business World for Hutch twice…

"The Malaysian telecom market is very interestingly poised. The three mobile operators have close to 23 million subscribers (Maxis is almost 10 million), which is nearly 85% of the population."

Your success in building the Hutchison brand from the ground up has been well documented in India. Could you share with our readers your story please, and also as the first employee of Hutchison Essar in the world's second largest mobile market?

Hutch was a shining gem in my career, but it is the past. One shouldn't cling to it too much because each market, each moment in time and each brand has its own story. Hutch did not become a classic overnight. It grew on the back of a strong legacy of the Orange brand, which, to my mind, was one of the most iconic brands to be created in the 90s across all product categories, leave alone Telecom. Hutch evolved, but had a clear vision of what it wanted to be on day one. A straightforward, honest, refreshing, brave and a gorgeous brand. While Orange looked at the world through the eyes of a child, Hutch saw it the way it was! Both bore the tonality of having their ‘head in the clouds' and ‘feet on the ground', which was inspiring.

The premium quality of the brand seeped through in the manner with which it addressed even mundane tariff cuts or advertised ringtones. It spoke about ‘SMS being the new language' and demystifi ed technology, both of which were clearly clutter breaking in a cacophony of typical ‘telecom speak' deployed by other brands. The use of the brand colour epitomized great aesthetics. Above all, the brand values and company's cultural values were interwoven very deeply. In saying this, I must laud the one campaign, which catapulted Hutch into absolute greatness and it was ‘The Boy and The Pug' ad developed for the network. It was a moment of inspiration, which truly happens only once, but is euphoric enough to be called an all time great telecom or network campaign. O&M surpassed themselves on this one.

What lessons are you hoping to bring into the Malaysia market based on your India experience?

Every market has its own idiosyncrasies due to its ethnic mix, cultural diversity and history. So, in many ways,