Sunil Mittal Explained

Sunil Mittal
Birth Date:1957 10, df=y
Birth Place:Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Nationality:Indian
Occupation:Founder & chairman Bharti Enterprises
Spouse:Nyna Mittal
Children:3 (incl. Kavin Bharti Mittal)
Parents:Sat Paul Mittal (father)
Relatives:Sharan Pasricha
(son-in-law)
Alma Mater:Punjab University[1]
Awards:Padma Bhusan
Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

Sunil Bharti Mittal (born 23 October 1957) is an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, which has diversified interests in telecom, insurance, real estate, education, malls, hospitality, Agri and food besides other ventures.

Bharti Airtel, the group's flagship company is one of the world's largest and India's largest telecom company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa with a customer base of over 399 million.[2] Bharti Airtel clocked revenues of over in FY2023. In 2023 he was ranked the 10th richest person in India by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of .[3]

In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor.[4] On 15 June 2016, he was elected as Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce.[5]

Early life

Sunil Bharti Mittal was born in Ludhiana, Punjab into an Agarwal family.[6] His father, Sat Pal Mittal, had been a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (Indian National Congress) from Ludhiana, Punjab. He first joined the Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie,[7] but later attended Scindia School at Gwalior and he graduated in 1976 from Panjab University, Chandigarh, with a Bachelor of Arts and Science for which he studied in Arya College, Ludhiana.[8] His father died of cardiac arrest in 1992.[1]

Entrepreneurial ventures

A first-generation entrepreneur, Sunil started his first business in April 1976[9] at the age of 18, with a capital investment of borrowed from his father. His first business was to make crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers.[10]

In 1980, he along with his brothers Rakesh Mittal and Rajan Mittal started an Import Enterprise named Bharti Overseas Trading Company.[7] He sold his bicycle parts and yarn factories and moved to Mumbai.[10] In 1981, he purchased importing licenses from exporting companies in Punjab.[9] He then imported thousands of Suzuki Motors's portable electric-power generators from Japan. The importing of generators was suddenly banned by the then Indian Government.

In 1984, he started assembling push-button phones in India,[9] which he earlier used to import from a Taiwan company, Kingtel, replacing the old fashioned, bulky rotary phones that were in use in the country then. Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) was incorporated and entered into a technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany for the manufacture of electronic push button phones. By the early 1990s, Sunil was making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear. Sunil says, "In 1983, the government imposed a ban on the import of gensets. I was out of business overnight. Everything I was doing came to a screeching halt. I was in trouble. The question then was: what should I do next? Then, opportunity came calling. While in Taiwan, I noticed the popularity of the push-button phone – something which India hadn't seen then. We were still using those rotary dials with no speed dials or redials. I sensed my chance and embraced the telecom business. I started marketing telephones, answering/fax machines under the brand name Beetel and the company picked up really fast.".[1] He named his first push-button phones as 'Mitbrau'.[7]

In 1992, he successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licenses auctioned in India.[1] One of the conditions for the Delhi cellular license was that the bidder have some experience as a telecom operator. So, Mittal clinched a deal with the French telecom group Vivendi. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994[9] and he launched services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel in 1997. Within a few years Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti also brought down the STD/ISD cellular rates in India under brand name 'Indiaone'.[9]

In May 2008, it emerged that Sunil Bharti Mittal was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company with coverage in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$45 billion for a 100% stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm. However, both sides emphasize the tentative nature of the talks, while The Economist magazine noted, "If anything, Bharti would be marrying up," as MTN has more subscribers, higher revenues and broader geographic coverage.[11] However, the talks fell apart as MTN group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the new company.[12] In May 2009, Bharti Airtel again confirmed that it was in talks with MTN and the companies agreed to discuss the potential transaction exclusively by 31 July 2009. Talks eventually ended without agreement, some sources stating that this was due to opposition from the South African government.[13]

In June 2010, Bharti led by Mittal acquired the African business of Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion (enterprise value) making it the largest ever acquisition by an Indian telecom firm.[14] In 2012, Bharti tied up with Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, to start a number of retail stores across India.[15] In 2014, Bharti planned to acquire Loop Mobile for INR 7 billion, but the deal was called off later.[16] His son Kavin Bharti Mittal is the CEO and founder of hike Messenger.[17]

In September 2010, Mittal's son, Shravin Mittal, joined Bharti Airtel as a manager having worked for Merrill Lynch in New York and Ernst & Young in London.[18]

In 2012, Mittal took Bharti Infratel public with an IPO that raised $760 million. Mittal noted that the sale, considered by many to be only a modest success, was a "strong endorsement from qualified investors".[19] The board was restructured ahead of the IPO with Mittal remaining as Chairman and Managing Director.[20] After the IPO, shares of Bharti Infratel dropped sharply at the commencement of trading.[21]

In 2013, Mittal was ordered to appear before a special Delhi court[21] to answer questions about the additional allocation of airwaves to certain companies. Allegations against Mittal state that there had been collusion with key telecoms officials in the government to illegally secure an extra spectrum. No charges were issued against Mittal, however the trial court judge noted that there was enough material on record to proceed.[22]

In late 2013, Mittal announced the acquisition of Warid Congo, making Bharti Airtel the largest telecoms provider in the Republic of Congo.[23]

In 2015, Sunil Mittal announced that he would be joining the board of Oneweb, a space internet company. Mittal was one of the investors in a $500 million investment round that included Coca-Cola, Virgin and Qualcomm.[24]

In 2016, Mittal made changes at Bharti Airtel to enable the company to compete against the launch of Jio.[25] [26] [27] in the race to become India's largest telecom company.

In 2017, Mittal announced "war on roaming" by scrapping charges for outgoing and incoming calls within India as well as international roaming charges.[28] [29]

Philanthropy

Mittal has also been working towards educating India through the Bharti Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises. The Foundation has established schools in villages across India and offers free quality education with free books, uniform and mid day meals to poor children.[30]

Satya Bharti School Program' – the Foundation's flagship program is running 254 schools in six States serving over 45,000 rural children, free of cost. The other educational initiatives including the – Satya Bharti School, Quality Support and Learning Centre Programs, are currently reaching out to over underprivileged children in 11 states. Other Program of the Foundation making considerable impact among the underprivileged sections is – 'Satya Bharti Abhiyan' (Sanitation).

In 2017, the Bharti Family pledged 10% of their wealth (approx. Rs 70 billion) towards Philanthropy to set up Satya Bharti University, a world-class University to offer education to deserving youth from economically weaker sections of society

Mittal has been married "for decades" to Nyna Mittal, a philanthropist who focuses on education.[31] The couple has one daughter and two sons, who are twins, born 31 August 1987. The daughter, Eiesha Bharti Pasricha, a "lifestyle investor," lives in London with her husband, businessman Sharan Pasricha, and their two children.[32] [33] One son, Kavin Bharti Mittal, is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Hike, a New Delhi-headquartered tech and internet startup.[34] The other son, Shravin Bharti Mittal, is the founder and CEO of Unbound, a London-based venture capital and private equity firm, and a director of Bharti Global Ltd, a London-headquartered firm in the Bharti corporate family. He was reportedly instrumental in the successful acquisition of OneWeb.[35] In April 2015, in Delhi, Shavrin married Sakshi Chhabra.[36]

Awards and recognition

Industry associations and affiliations

Academia

Global Trade

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Sunil Mittal speaking: I started with a dream. 22 December 2002. The Times of India. Vinod. Nair.
  2. Web site: Airtel becomes third largest globally. Gadgets.ndtv.com. 30 June 2015.
  3. Web site: India's 100 Richest People . Forbes. 2022-11-03.
  4. Web site: Sunil Mittal, Indra Nooyi get Padma Bhushan . https://archive.today/20120912214846/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2007/01/27/stories/2007012702200700.htm . dead . 12 September 2012 . 27 January 2009 . Business Line . 1 April 2010 .
  5. News: 2018-06-21 . Sunil Mittal becomes honorary chairman of International Chamber of Commerce . 2024-03-22 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
  6. News: Lunch with Rajan Bharti Mittal. economictimes.com.
  7. Book: Mittal, Airtel. Pesu!. July 2008. Tamil. Kizhakku. 978-81-8368-864-2. 14.
  8. Web site: The World's Billionaires. 11 March 2009 . Forbes . 1 April 2010.
  9. Web site: Sunil Mittal TimesNow interview. https://web.archive.org/web/20140706081032/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU39b9g1oOo. 2014-07-06 . dead. YouTube. 1 April 2010.
  10. News: Wireless Wonder: India's Sunil Mittal . Clay Chandler . 17 January 2007 . CNN . 1 April 2010.
  11. News: Emerging-market telecoms: Eyes on Africa . 6 May 2008 . The Economist. 1 April 2010.
  12. News: $50 Billion Telecom Deal Falls Apart . Heather Timmons. 25 May 2008 . The New York Times . 1 April 2010.
  13. Web site: Bharti and MTN have called off merger discussions once again. James Middleton . 1 October 2009 . Telecoms.com . 1 April 2010.
  14. News: Bharti completes acquisition of Zain's Africa biz for $10.7bn. The Times of India . 8 June 2010 . 12 November 2015.
  15. Wal-Mart May Open India Retail Stores Within Two Years. https://web.archive.org/web/20120924205229/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-21/wal-mart-in-talks-with-bharti-after-india-eases-rules. dead. 24 September 2012. Bloomberg Businessweek. 5 April 2013.
  16. News: Airtel calls of deal to acquire Loop telecom. The Economic Times. 30 June 2015.
  17. Web site: Sunil Mittal & family . . 2 December 2016.
  18. News: Sunil Mittal's son joins Bharti Airtel, fuels succession talk. Reuters Editorial. Reuters India. 13 August 2017.
  19. Web site: Bharti Infratel IPO raises $760m. Financial Times. 13 August 2017.
  20. News: Bharti rejigs board ahead of tower arm IPO. 27 September 2012. Firstpost. 13 August 2017.
  21. News: Bharti Infratel shares drop 13 percent in market debut. 28 December 2012. Reuters. 13 August 2017.
  22. News: Billionaires Sunil Mittal, Ravi Ruia Face Court Grilling in Telecom Probe. Karmali. Naazneen. Forbes. 13 August 2017.
  23. News: India's Airtel continues Africa push with deal in Congo. Financial Times. 13 August 2017.
  24. News: Oneweb secures $500m from Richard Branson, Coca-Cola and others. BOLSAMANIA. 13 August 2017.
  25. News: We will increase revenue market share, says Sunil Mittal. Mankotia. Anandita Singh. 21 September 2016. The Economic Times. 13 August 2017. Guha. Romit.
  26. News: The Mukesh Ambani vs Sunil Bharti Mittal battle is really heating up!. Business Insider. 13 August 2017.
  27. News: Sunil Mittal readies for 4G battle against Mukesh Ambani . Financial Times. 10 March 2016 . 13 August 2017.
  28. News: No more bill shocks, vows Sunil Mittal as Airtel scraps roaming charges. Press Trust of India. 28 February 2017. Business Standard India. 13 August 2017.
  29. News: Mobile phone chief Sunil Mittal calls for end to roaming rates . Financial Times. 27 February 2017 . 13 August 2017.
  30. Web site: The 25 Best Givers . Suzanne McGee . 30 November 2009 . Barron's. 1 April 2010.
  31. Web site: These billionaire wives are perfect combination of beauty and brains . Avantika . in.news.yahoo.com . 12 April 2019 . 13 October 2020 . en-IN.
  32. News: MacDonald . Hugo . This Stunning London House Is the Perfect Place to Put Down Family Roots . 13 October 2020 . Architectural Digest . en-us.
  33. News: Shinner . Josh . My Life, My Style . 13 October 2020 . Harper's Bazaar Malaysia . November 2019 . en.
  34. News: Balachandran . Manu . Can Kavin Bharti Mittal Save Hike? . 13 October 2020 . Forbes India . 17 February 2020 . en.
  35. News: Shravin Mittal shines as Bharti wins bid for satellite firm OneWeb . 13 October 2020 . TelecomLead . 3 July 2020.
  36. News: Gupte . Masoom . Shravin Mittal weds school sweetheart Sakshi Chhabra . 13 October 2020 . The Economic Times.
  37. Web site: Sunil Bharti Mittal. 2021-02-11. cnbctv18.com. en.
  38. News: Sunil Mittal gets GSM Association Chairman's Award. 13 February 2008. The Economic Times. 8 November 2018.
  39. News: 2007-01-13 . Sunil Mittal is Fortune's Asian businessman of the year . 2024-03-22 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
  40. News: Sunil Mittal is BS CEO of the Year. Rediff. 8 November 2018.
  41. News: Presenting the Jury for The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2020. The Economic Times. 2021-02-11.
  42. News: Sunil Mittal bags award. The Economic Times. 30 June 2011.
  43. News: Sunil Mittal gets INSEAD award. The Hindu. In.com. 30 June 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120325154442/http://www.in.com/news/business/fullstory-sunil-mittal-gets-insead-award-19483281-in-1.html. 25 March 2012.
  44. News: Airtel's Sunil Mittal, Paytm's Vijay Shekar given honorary degrees by Amity University. DNA INDIA.com.
  45. News: ET Awards: Sunil Mittal, Mansukh Mandaviya get top honours, ICICI picked as company of the year. . Economic Times . 22 February 2023 . February 25, 2023.
  46. News: Sunil Bharti Mittal becomes first Indian citizen to be conferred an honorary Knighthood by Britain's King . newsonair.gov.in.
  47. News: GSMA Elects New Board Members and Elects Sunil Bharti Mittal as Chair – Newsroom. 27 October 2016. Newsroom. 8 November 2018.
  48. News: Chairmanship and Secretary General . ICC – International Chamber of Commerce. 8 November 2018.
  49. http://reports.weforum.org/digital-transformation/wp-content/blogs.dir/94/mp/files/pages/files/dti-telecommunications-industry-slideshare.pdf
  50. Web site: Sunil Bharti Mittal. World Economic Forum. 8 November 2018.
  51. News: Sunil Mittal elected CII President. 24 May 2007. The Economic Times. 8 November 2018.
  52. Web site: GlobalGiants.Com - Elite Cultural Magazine: Annual Meeting 2007 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - January 27, 2007 Events : GlobalGiants.com. globalgiants.com. 8 November 2018.