A Brisk Start
When Vsevolod Rozanov, 38, arrived n India in August 2008 to take up he challenge of a rank latecomer in the mobile phone industry ?? “we really just caught the last train”, he admits ?? he had to hit the ground running.
This was no problem for the experienced professional that he is, having been based in London, Stockholm, Budapest and Istanbul in previous postings, besides Moscow. He wasted no time getting his cultural bearings or adapting to life and work in Gurgaon. Instead, he dived straight into his work as president and CEO of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), spearheading the launch of operations in India under the MTS brand.
SSTL is a joint venture between Russia’s Sistema and India’s Shyam Group, and the only pure play CDMA operator in the country.
Rozanov is thrilled about this unique position because he believes that CDMA is a better technology as it enables efficient utilisation of the frequencies available and helps to bring down costs.
He says that Indian customers are really concerned about the poor quality of calls and the company is building its USP around CDMA as a superior technology offering high speed data services and better voice quality.
Being so late off the starting block has not daunted Rozanov at all. He says he knew that MTS had to grow fast. To grow fast, it had to expand its footprint in new circles, it had to get first-time users and also lure customers away from the deeply entrenched incumbents that have enjoyed first-mover advantage.
The MTS brand, which has more than 100 million subscribers all over the world, is proving to be a strong challenger indeed, advancing at a scorching pace in circle after circle and winning the national telecom award for “most successful new telecom operator” in July.
“India is the only remaining fast growing telecom market in the world and its growth potential is massive. We’re thinking very large scale. We already have 2.5 million subscribers,” he says.
Speaking to tele.net on his way to Bangalore, Rozanov said there were plenty of users who preferred MTS because of its quality, tariff and billing plans.
In fact, in Rajasthan where the company launched a provocative campaign with the slogan “Badlo life ka plan” (change your life’s plan), over 50 per cent of its subscribers are not newcomers but customers who have switched over from other mobile operators.
“They are switching to us because they are frustrated with the quality of the old incumbent networks and are willing to try our non-congested network,” he says.
MTS’s marketing strategy is to offer a simple, easy-to-understand tariff plan and low tariffs. Its subscribers pay Re 0.50 for an SMS, unlike many of its rivals who charge Re 1 for the same.
“I have very fond memories of Bain because it is such a great employer ?? in fact one of the best employers in the US ?? and I gained so much diverse work and cultural experience,” he says.
From 2002 to 2004, Rozanov was deputy CEO and CFO at MTU-Inform, a leading commercial fixed line operator in Moscow. From there, he moved to Comstar-United TeleSystems OJSC as deputy CEO and CFO and played a key role in the preparation for the company’s IPO on the Moscow and London Stock Exchanges. Prior to coming to India, Rozanov served as vice-president and CFO with Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS and the telecom arm of Sistema.
Rozanov enjoyed all his postings. Istanbul with the River Bosphorus was, he says, fascinating and vibrant and an enchanting place to live in. London was wonderful not only in itself as a cosmopolitan city with an exciting cultural life but also as a base from which to explore the rest of Europe. “I loved the countryside in England. It is extremely beautiful,” he says.
His first task in India was to build a great team virtually from scratch. MTS now employs more than 2,500 people but Rozanov started off with only a dozen or so (outside of Rajasthan) and had to recruit aggressively. He says that he was very particular and rigorous in selecting his team members.
“It was crucial to find the right people.We had a lot of hiring to do and had to deal with the fact that we are not a household name here. MTS was not a wellknown brand in India. People here are not familiar with Russian consumer goods companies or service providers. So we had to be persuasive to get the best,” he says.
Rozanov was clear about the attributes he wanted. He wanted people who could take the lead rather than follow, take risks rather than hold back, take decisions on their own rather than look for guidance, and embrace responsibility rather than shirk it.
“I took my time finding the right people because it was important to get the proper team and I’m very happy with it. The team is very competitive and result oriented,” he says. In fact, he finds the work culture in India more competitive, efficient and result-oriented than in some other countries, and likens it to the competitive nature of the Indian economy.
SSTL plans to invest $5.5 billion in India over a period of five years, much of it for setting up the infrastructure that will enable accessibility and better connectivity for mobile phone users. MTS is already offering services in half of the 22 circles in the country and it hopes to be present in all of them by end-2010.
Rozanov is happy living in Gurgaon and sounds surprised when asked if it is green enough for him, as some people describe it as a concrete and chrome landscape. He says he finds it very green and the only thing he misses about the landscape in India are the colours of autumn that Russia offers.
Rozanov’s wife Ekaterina initially took a bit of time settling in as the work involved in setting up a new home was daunting, but she is now enjoying herself and is busy with their two young sons aged 11 and 6 and the latest addition to the family ?? a six-monthold daughter. The children do not miss Russia, he says, but they do miss their grandparents back in Moscow. Surprisingly for the parents, the boys’ favourite food these days is chicken tikka and paneer.
When asked to compare the Russia of his childhood and the post-Communist era, Rozanov replies that it is virtually impossible to make comparisons “because they are two different worlds”.
“Everything changed overnight for everyone. It’s difficult to say if this massive experiment has been for the best. There have been both positive and negative changes,” he comments.
When it is suggested to him that if the earlier regime had not collapsed Rozanov would never have been able to enjoy the kind of career he has been able to pursue, he laughs: “No, of course not, never. But then there would have been other opportunities, wouldn’t there?”
His 18-hour days and travel across India do not leave him much time for his family. On a recent trip to Chennai during Diwali, however, he and the family spent a few days by the sea and it worked out well. So they have decided to repeat this in the future whenever possible.
Rozanov says that he is “blessed” with his work, describing it as his hobby and his passion. “It is so stimulating that it gives me a boundless sense of creation. Everyone in my team is dedicated, young at heart and determined to create something unique. This is what allows us to move forward. Without this energy and excitement, I would not have been able to sustain such long hours for over a year,” he says.
After graduating, he joined leading management consulting firm Bain & Company, Inc. and worked in Moscow, London and Stockholm from 1993 to 2001.
