For decades, Indians lived in the nightmare world of having to wait years for a fixed line phone. This dystopia vanished overnight with the arrival of mobile phone services a decade ago. Since then, the telecom sector has blazed an extraordinary trail, transforming the lives of millions by giving them a means of communication, and giving it to them easily. Today, India is estimated to be the second largest telecom market after China, with more than 4 million mobile subscribers being added every month.

Competition, especially in the last few years, has added an extra edge to the already growing sector. To get a panIndian presence, companies have gone through a phase of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, and invested in rolling out and upgrading services. With all this has come a massive demand for skilled professionals.

From trainees and executives to technical staff and senior managers, personnel have been hand-picked, trained, juggled, and shuffled as companies try to get that elusive “balance” they need to survive the cut-throat competition and stay ahead.

Bharti, Reliance, Hutch, Idea, and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have all grappled with putting the right person in the right job, whether the “job” is managing growing corporate needs, handling marketing or technology change, or working out financial strategies. The human resource issue has become urgent, particularly at the CXO level. Mergers, acquisitions and management changes are adding to the urgency.

Reliance Communication
In mid-2005, Reliance Infocomm (now Reliance Communication), the largest CDMA-based mobile operator in the country, changed hands from Mukesh Ambani to younger brother Anil Ambani, following a family feud. Anil Ambani, under the banner of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE), brought in a new set of professionals.

Other changes followed. Rajesh Sawhney was brought in as president, Reliance Entertainment. A key member of the leadership team in the media and entertainment space, his job is to focus on launching the group’s internet and portal strategies and provide movies, entertainment and gaming content for the company’s 17 million mobile users. Sawhney came from Times Internet where he was the chief operating officer (COO). In fact, he had been with the Times of India Group for 14 years, creating successful businesses across several new areas, including radio, retailing, the internet, e-commerce and travel.

Among the other highlevel appointments at ADAE were that of Debabrata Chowdhury who joined the group as vicepresident, technology development. Chowdhury came from Bharti Tele Ventures where he was CTO, enterprise services.

Then there was Ramesh Venkat who was brought into the team as president, finance, from the Vedanta/ Sterlite Group where he was the group CFO with prior experience in Hindustan Lever, ANZ Grindlays Bank and Credit Lyonnais.

Also on board were professionals such as Nalini Gupta who joined the ADAE team as marketing adviser, chairman’s office. She came from Airtel Enterprise Services (AES) where she was chief products and marketing officer. Prior to this, Gupta had worked in India and in the US for AT&T, Pacific Bell and Bellcore (now Telecordia). Today, her responsibilities include product management of voice and data products, along with new introductions.

In 2006, ADAE hired Michael P. Sauer, who now heads Reliance Communication, Inc., USA, as president. Based in New York, he is responsible for the company’s operations in North and South America and is a member of the company’s senior management team. Sauer came highly recommended having served in senior positions in the US-based carrier MCI.

Tata Group
In 2005, the telecom industry saw some major consolidation drives. This phase brought with it several reshuffles in the top management of larger service providers. Ratan Tata took charge of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), the telecommunications arm of the Tata Group, to push growth.

Subodh Bhargava was brought in as group chairman and CEO of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) with the remit of charting a more aggressive course.

Bharti Airtel
Bharti also underwent several management changes. The new structure created under the banner of Bharti Airtel had Manoj Kohli as president. With his longstanding relationship with the telecom industry and rich experience at Escotel (a mobile service provider in north India) where he helped the company reach the height of efficiency and popularity, Kohli today drives Bharti Airtel’s strategy and operational performance.

Under the new structure, Kohli is supported by three joint presidents appointed for three independent SBUs ?? K. Krishnan (broadband and telephone services) with a special focus on new town rollouts and introduction of new technologies; Vinod Sawhney (enterprise services), and Sanjay Kapoor (mobility), who has successfully run Airtel in Delhi and launched Airtel in four western markets.

Apart from this, the key management staff include Sarvjit Dhillon (director, finance and business integration), Jai Menon (director, IT and innovation), Hemant Sachdev (director, marketing and communication) and Don Price (director, networks).

Jagbir Singh, CTO, Infotel, moved to take over as CTO of mobility. Krishnan is supported by Rajiv Sharma (CEO-NCR) and Rohtash Mal (CEO-north), Prem Pradeep (CEO-south central), Deepak Khanna (COO-central), Randeep Narang (COOwest), and Deepak Pande (COO-SME).

As Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director of Bharti, explained, “The changes were necessary. They follow our refreshed vision to leverage the synergies of being an integrated player. We have put in place a new organisational structure and a leadership team that will enable our organisation to take a quantum leap, outpacing world-class performance parameters.”

Idea Cellular
Of late, there have been instances where, because of acquisitions or mergers, changes in organisational structures have followed. An example of this is Idea Cellular where, with the Tatas quitting the scene, Kumar Mangalam Birla has taken over the hot seat of managing the company.

Spice Telecom
Regional players are also playing the same game. Spice Telecom, for instance, recently hired Prakash Nanani as its CEO. Nanani left Hong Kong-based Distacom to join Spice, a cellular operator in north India and Karnataka. “These two regions have always remained focused and committed towards developing state-of-the-art telecommunication infrastructure. Spice Telecom, which is in the process of consolidating and investing in various disciplines like network and technology upgradation and increasing infrastructure and resources, is also investing in the enhancement of its brand image,” says Nanani.

Hiring trends
Changes across the board
The changes described so far are at the senior level. But, according to human resource firms, there is substantial movement at all levels. In fact, the telecom industry is attracting the cream of professionals. According to World Bank estimates for the period 1994 to 2000, employment in the telecommunications sector grew by 33 per cent, the highest growth in the services industry, even higher than the IT industry, which saw a 20 per cent growth.

No holds barred
Given the aggressive and swift nature of the industry’s growth, it is natural that operators as well as vendors are on a hiring overdrive. For professionals joining the industry, it is, as telecom analyst Mahesh Uppal says, “a career that offers tremendous growth opportunities and huge learning potential”. What also appeals to new recruits is the generous pay packets. For the telecom service provider or vendor, it is a question of attracting the best from all sectors ?? FMCG, institutions, government and IT.

Take Amit Bose, president, TTSL ?? he moved from Reliance to TTSL bringing with him 25 years of experience in the FMCG sector, having worked with multinationals like Pepsi, Hindustan Lever and Lipton, among others.

Global hunt
The combination of high salaries with the growing global aspirations of companies like TTSL, VSNL, Reliance or Bharti means that companies are able to hire global talent to manage their businesses. There is Darryl Green, hired as CEO, TTSL; Don Price, CTO, Bharti; and Michael Sauer, president, Reliance Communication, US.

TTSL appointed Darryl Green as its first CEO with the full profit and loss responsibility of the company. With his experience as CEO, Vodafone KK Japan, Green was considered a good choice to help TTSL launch its new services, formulate pricing plans and provide the necessary leadership to achieve the company’s goals.

The global forays of operators like VSNL and MTNL are attracting professionals like Vinod Kumar who joined VSNL in April 2005. As president of the company’s international business group, his responsibilities include expanding the service capabilities of VSNL in several strategic markets outside India. With 18 years spent in several senior positions in marketing, product management and strategy in the international telecom industry (his previous experience includes stints in Asia Netcom as senior vice-president, and CEO, Global One, Japan), VSNL decided that he was the right man.

Poaching game
Hiring is one thing. Holding on to staff is another. The turnover is high because good professionals are in demand and always being poached. “The level of attrition in India is no surprise given that the increase in skilled manpower is not able to keep pace with India’s scorching growth, especially in the telecom sector,” says Uppal.

Poaching is routine. Several officials from Bharti have moved to Reliance or the Tatas. For example, Rajeev Batra left Bharti to join the Anil Ambani camp as vice-president, IT and technology. At Bharti, Batra had been the chief architect (corporate IT and technology) of its India operations and so he represents considerable value for Ambani’s Reliance. His responsibilities today include providing direction for the strategic and tactical adaptability of IT and technology to businesses and he has already proved his mettle, playing a key role in the creation of the strategic outsourcing arrangement between Bharti and IBM.

Shifting gears
Some professionals are also making the cross-over from service provider to vendor, and vice versa. In perhaps the most surprising move in 2005, Firdoze Vandrewala, who spent much of his career with the Tata Group, left to join equipment manufacturer, Motorola, to spearhead its operations in India.

In a reverse move, Sanjay Behl, who headed Nokia’s marketing team, recently moved to Reliance as head of branding.

Old faithfuls
Amidst all the movement, some old faithfuls are staying put. B.D Khurana, group president of Reliance Infocomm, has been with the company since its inception. So has Akhil Gupta, joint managing director and CFO, Bharti Airtel. The same can be said for Vikram Mehmi, CEO of Idea Cellular, who was earlier CFO of the company and is known to be its financial wizard.

But these are more of an exception than the rule. Spurred by aggressive expansion plans, companies like TTSL, Bharti and Reliance continue to build up a formidable arsenal of professionals. All this makes the telecom sector one of biggest recruiters in the country today. As analysts point out, the high level of movement will not only allow companies to leverage the best talent available but also help energise the sector as a whole.