Sunil Mittal – A Case Study

Introduction Sunil Bharti Mittal, born October 23, 1957 is an Indian businessman. Son of a politician, Sunil Mittal is from the town of Ludhiana in Punjab. A former student of Harvard Business School graduated from Punjab University. Son of a parliamentarian. Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Group

Entrepreneurial Ventures A first generation entrepreneur. Started his first business in 1976 at the age of 18 with a capital investment of Rs 20,000 (US$1500) borrowed from his father. First business was to make crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers. Closed in 1979 and moved to Bombay importing a variety of products -- steel, brass, zinc, zip fasteners and plastics.

Entrepreneurial Ventures Started a full-fledged business selling portable generators imported from Japan in 1982. First to bring portable generators to India. Government banned the import of generators as two Indian companies were awarded licenses to manufacture generators locally and Sunil had to close is business.

Entrepreneurial Ventures 1982 - First Step in Telecom Introduced the push button phones to India, , replacing rotary phones. Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) was incorporated. Entered into a technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany. 1990s - Started making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear.

Entrepreneurial Ventures 1992 - Turning Point. Awarding of licenses for mobile phone services for the first time by Indian Govt. Secured rights to serve New Delhi. 1995, Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel. Instrumental in bringing down the high STD/ISD, cellular rates in the country by rolling the countries first private national as well as international long-distance service.

Entrepreneurial Ventures 2001- Entered into a joint venture with Singapore Telecom International for a $650-million submarine cable project. Countries first ever undersea cable link connecting Chennai in India and Singapore. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002. Airtel - India’s largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles.

Entrepreneurial Ventures Entry into Finance Sector. July 2007  - Joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA Group of France. (world leader in financial protection and wealth management).

Entrepreneurial Ventures Retailing - November 2006, Sunil Mittal struck a joint venture deal with Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, to start a number of retail stores across India. Launched neighborhood format stores called "Easy Day". The stores are a one stop shop to cater to every family’s day-to-day needs.

Entrepreneurial Ventures Launched the Bharti Airtel's Digital TV. Partner with Narayanamurthy's Infosys Technologies to DTH service. Bharti Realty Private Limited - the in-house Real Estate Arm for Bharti Group - facilitates by extending support to the Group Companies for Identifying, Developing and Maintaining Quality Real Estate in line with their Business Models.

Philanthropic activities Joined hands with the All India Football Federation and pumped in over a hundred crore rupees to help the country attain global standards in the sport. First step, the telecom company will start a world-class football academy, to be named 'Bharti-AIFF Academy. Wants a "football revolution" in the country and is ready to invest "any amount of money“.

Philanthropic activities Bharti Foundation Set up in the year 2000 with the vision, “To help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential“. Initiated a School Improvement Program (SIP), where it works with government schools. In the process of setting up pre-primary and primary level schools under its Satya Bharti Schools program.

Philanthropic activities Joined hands with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to establish the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management (BSTTM). Has committed Rs 20 crore towards BSTTM. Students enrolling in the institute, are completely funded by the the Bharti Foundations.

Key learnings Ability to take decisions amidst uncertainties is at the root of new leadership paradigm. Sunil Mittal is first to enter many sectors of the business, which involves the risk of uncertainties. Here it is his vision of the entrepreneur that makes him successful. In this era of me-too products that flood the market place, the key to survival and success of an innovation is speed to market. Sunil Mittal’s company Bharti has followed it by coming into the retail sector, insurance sector, and finance sector and now in the entertainment sector.

Key learnings Out-of-the-box thinking is one of the essentials of new leadership. Managing the current as well as future breed of volatile customers, reading their mind and predicting the future consumption trend.