Sudhir Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, itel Mobile
Sudhir Kumar brings to the table about 18 years of leadership experience in the telecom industry. He is currently serving as chief executive officer at itel Mobile. In this position, he is responsible for the company’s overall operations and spearheads its business growth, channel partnerships, and sales and marketing verticals. “It makes me proud to be a part of itel’s long-term vision to empower every citizen with the technological tools needed to claim their right to progress. The company’s focus in India is on tapping the relatively untapped markets in the semi-urban and rural areas as well as on empowering the socio-economically weaker segments of society,” he says.
itel has a robust network of retailers and distributors, which are helping it gain a significant foothold in the market. However, a key challenge before the company is to identify the varying needs of consumers from different markets and providing them with tailor-made mobility solutions.
Prior to itel, Kumar was associated with Intex for about 15 years, where he gained in-depth insight into strategic business planning, marketing and sales and channel development. “I was responsible for expanding the product portfolio, which included mobile devices and internet of things product lines. I transformed the IT and telecom businesses, making them significant revenue drivers for the company,” he says. He also played an instrumental role in identifying new partnerships for the company and strengthening its distribution network by exploring new markets and extending the global reach for multiple businesses.
Commenting on emerging trends in the sector, Kumar says he expects greater demand for both feature phones and smartphones in the future, driven by the government’s focus on digitisation. Also, as more Indians become an active part of the digital revolution, mobile brands will see a shift towards product customisation to cater to the needs of consumers from different markets.
His management style is open and employee-centric. “This makes the work environment highly conducive and energetic, and allows for a free and open exchange of creativity, which keeps the motivation levels high.” Kumar defines his key strengths as honesty, integrity and hard work – values that he has unflinching belief in. Kumar has a postgraduate degree in business management and information sciences from the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, travelling and spending time with his family including his wife and their son.
