Puneet Garg, President and Chief Technology Officer, Group Wireline, Jio
Puneet Garg has held several leadership roles throughout his three-decade career. These include chief technology officer (CTO) at Enterprise Smartfren, board director and CTO at MyRepublic ID in Indonesia, board director and chief technology innovation officer at IndosatM2, and CTO at Bharti Airtel. He was also a sales director at Lucent Technologies in Singapore. His rich international experience has equipped him with a deep understanding of telecom strategies and innovations.
Garg is currently president and Group Wireline CTO at Jio, where he oversees the design and expansion of one of the world’s largest all-IP transport, Airfiber and fibre networks. He spearheads the seamless integration of metro, national long distance core and collector networks across India, ensuring that Jio’s mobile, home and enterprise customers experience unparalleled connectivity and performance. He is focused on delivering high speed connectivity and integrating data, voice, over-the-top (OTT) and TV content to millions of users. One of his most ambitious short-term goals is to expand Jio’s home network to over 100 million homes, a project aimed at providing seamless, high quality connectivity to every corner of the country by leveraging new-age technologies.
Garg’s management style is anchored in simplicity, clarity and execution. Empowering his teams and fostering collaboration are key elements of his approach, as is the continuous learning and development of talent.
Regarding his vision for the future of the Indian telecom sector, Garg states, “The telecom industry is experiencing a seismic shift, fuelled by the digital revolution brought on by 5G, internet of things (IoT) and breakthroughs in fibre optics. The convergence of telecom and media is reshaping how we consume content. OTT, smart home solutions and cloud-based services are becoming mainstream. Jio’s leadership in fibre infrastructure is pivotal in enabling this shift, ensuring that India stays ahead in the global digital race. This is a new era of limitless connectivity, and we at Jio are proud to be at the forefront of this revolution.”
The key technology trends that he sees shaping the next generation of telecom networks are IoT and Industry 4.0 powered by 5G, AI and edge computing; cloud-first and edge infrastructure; AI-driven networks; and metaverse and extended reality.
Garg holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics from the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology. He has also refined his leadership capabilities through INSEAD’s Leadership in Action Programme.
Beyond his professional endeavours, Garg enjoys reading, playing badminton and travelling. Family is central to his life, with daily rituals like shared meals.
