Sunil Mittal

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Sunil Bharti Mittal

Sunil Bharti Mittal at the World Economic Forum in Davos,

2007

23 October 1957 (1957-10-23) (age 53)

Born
Ludhiana, Punjab, India

Residence South Delhi, India

Nationality Indian

Alma mater Punjab University[1]

 Chairman and Group CEO of
Occupation
Bharti Enterprises

Net worth $7.8 billion (2010)[2]

Religion Hindu

Spouse Nyna[1]

Children 3[1]

Website

www.airtel.in

Notes
[3]

Sunil Bharti Mittal Devnagri: सुनील भारती िमतल, Punjabi: ਸੁਨੀਲ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਿਮੱਤਲ, born 23 October
1957) is an Indian telecom mogul, philanthropist and the founder, chairman and Group CEO of
Bharti Enterprises. The US$7.2 billion turnover company runs India's largest GSM-based mobile
phone service and world's fifth largest wireless company with over 190 million customers across
19 countries in Asia and Africa. He is the son of Sat Paul (former MP) and Lalita.[1]
In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor.[4]

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Early life
• 2 Entrepreneurial ventures
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Philanthropy
• 5 External links
• 6 References

[edit] Early life

Sunil Mittal, was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. His father, Sat Pal Mittal had been the
Member of Parliament (M.P) from Ludhiana. He first joined the Wynberg Allen School in
Mussoorie,[5] but later attended Scindia School at Gwalior and he graduated in 1976 from Punjab
University, Chandigarh, with a Bachelor of Arts and Science.[6] His father died of cardiac arrest
in 1992.[1]
[edit] Entrepreneurial ventures
A first generation entrepreneur, Mittal started his first business in April 1976[7] at the age of 18,
with a capital investment of 20,000 (US$434) borrowed from his father. His first business was
to make crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers.[8]
In 1980, he along with his brothers Rakesh, Rajan started an Import Enterprise named Bharti
Overseas Trading Corporation.[5] He sold his bicycle parts and yarn factories and moved to
Mumbai.[8]
In 1981, he purchased importing licences from exporting companies in Punjab.[7] 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 and just two
licences to manufacture generators in India were issued to two companies.
In 1984, he started assembling push-button phones in India,[7] 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 manufacture of electronic push button phones.
By the early 1990s, Mittal was making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear.
Mittal 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 'Mitbro'.[5]
In 1992, he successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licences 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[7] and he launched
services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular
services under the brand name AirTel. 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'.[7] IndiaOne was India’s first private national
as well as the international long-distance service provider, and, thus, became a major factor in
Bharti's success by providing services cheaply.
In November 2006, he struck a joint venture deal with Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, to start a
number of retail stores across India.
In July 2006, he attracted many key executives from Reliance ADAG, NIS Sparta and created
Bharti Comtel.
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.[9] However, the talks fell apart as
MTN group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the new
company.[3]
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. Bharti Airtel said in a
statement "Bharti Airtel Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has renewed its effort for a significant
partnership with MTN Group".
Talks eventually ended without agreement, some sources stating that this was due to opposition
from the South African government.[10]
[edit] Personal life
Mittal resides in Delhi. He is married and has three children. He is superstitious about the
number 23, as he was born on the 23rd and also got married on the 23rd day of the month.[11] He
also stops eating meat before any big adventure.[11]
[edit] Philanthropy
Mittal has also been working towards educating India through the Bharti Foundation. The
foundation has established over 200 schools on its 2009 list of the world's top 25 philanthropists.
[12]

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sunil Mittal

• Bharti Airtel ZAIN deal

• Bharti's agri-venture with Rothschild family
• Exhilway Finance, Bharti's Wealth Manager
• MTN Bharti Merger fails
• Sunil Mittal's Telecommunications Company
• Sunil Mittal Profile and Photographs
• BBC News: Who is Sunil Mittal?
• India PRwire: Sunil B. Mittal chosen for Padma Bhushan Award
• Sunil Mittal's address to youths & students in mp3
[edit] References
1. ^ a b c d e f g Nair, Vinod (22 December 2002). "Sunil Mittal speaking: I started with a dream".
Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-32019056,prtpage-1.cms.
 2. ^ "India's Richest Billionares". Forbes. 18 November 2009. http://www.forbes.com/profile/Sunil-
Mittal. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
3. ^ a b Heather Timmons (25 May 2008). "$50 Billion Telecom Deal Falls Apart". New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/technology/25bharti.html. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
4. ^ "Sunil Mittal, Indra Nooyi get Padma Bhushan". The Hindu Businessline. 27 January 2009.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2007/01/27/stories/2007012702200700.htm.
Retrieved 1 April 2010.
5. ^ a b c pg.14,Airtel Mittal: Pesu! (Tamil Edition),Kizhakku,ISBN 8183688640
6. ^ "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. 11 March 2009.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Sunil-Mittal-
family_EM57.html. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
7. ^ a b c d e "Sunil Mittal TimesNow interview". YouTube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NU39b9g1oOo. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
8. ^ a b Clay Chandler (17 January 2007). "Wireless Wonder: India's Sunil Mittal". CNN
(CNNMoney.com).
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/01/22/8397979/index2.htm.
Retrieved 1 April 2010.
9. ^ "Emerging-market telecoms: Eyes on Africa". The Economist. 6 May 2008.
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11323216&top_story=1.
Retrieved 1 April 2010.
10.^ James Middleton (1 October 2009). "Bharti and MTN have called off merger discussions once
again". Telecoms.com. http://www.telecoms.com/14914/bharti-mtn-call-off-merger-talks/.
Retrieved 1 April 2010.
11.^ a b "I wonder who did this". India Today. 3 October 2010.
http://www.brfcs.co.uk/mb/index.php/topic/23622-rovers-takeover/page__st__120. Retrieved 12
October 2009.
12.^ Suzanne McGee (30 November 2009). "The 25 Best Givers". Barron's.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB125935466529866955.html. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunil_Mittal"
Categories: Indian billionaires | Indian businesspeople | Indian Hindus | People from Ludhiana |
1957 births | Living people | Recipients of the Padma Bhushan | Panjab University alumni |
Scindia School alumni
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