Armed with a postgraduate degree in business administration from Leeds Business School, UK, and the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India, Sundeep Talwar brings to the table over two decades of work experience in the telecom and IT industry.
After working with various telecom majors, he joined Aircel over three years ago. He has since served in various roles in the company, the latest being as circle operations head of the Jammu & Kashmir circle. He has also served as the national head for the company?s prepaid sales and distribution functions.
Among the many challenging projects he has undertaken, he recalls the roll-out of networks in tough geographies like Jharkhand and selling millions of GSM phones on a single day in a single deal.
Commenting on the challenges and targets before him in his current role, he says, ?The upsurge in the data segment in 2013 has motivated us to continue delighting our customers with an array of innovative and affordable products and services. Our main focus is the customer, and the company will work continuously to upgrade its infrastructure and adopt new technologies to offer a high-end experience to our users. We also plan to increase our footprint in the Kashmir and Leh region.?
The operator?s efforts seem to have paid off. According to Talwar, Aircel is currently the second largest player in the market. Going forward, the main target before him is continued focus on innovation, which, he hopes, will lead to steady growth in the company?s subscriber base and profitability.
With regard to overall trends in the sector, he comments, ?Over the years, there has been a downward trend in telecom tariffs, with profits shrinking to the narrowest extent. Therefore, there is a need for operators to be creative and innovative in their approach. Innovative data and tariff bundling is the best way for operators to differentiate themselves. With limited sources of entertainment in Jammu & Kashmir, mobile applications, value-added services and e-commerce-based offerings will be some of the key focus areas for operators. Also, we will see significant adoption of m-banking and location-based services as the demand for data grows.?
Describing his family, especially his children, as his ?power source?, he says that spending time with them relaxes him and helps boost his concentration. He also enjoys reading and meditating.
