Mittal: Man who connects with world

MUMBAI: It surely is reassuring when your call is returned after two missed calls. Fifty-three-year-old Sunil Bharti Mittal can be termed as third-time lucky after his wooing game with African telecos got consummated into a $10.7 billion deal with Zain on Valentine’s Day.
Having failed twice in his courtship with South African telco, MTN, in the past, the Zain deal only goes on to prove Mittal’s persistence in business deals, much like his passion for football.For Mittal, who hails from Ludhiana in Punjab, the taste of success would be no different to the time when his telecom company, Bharti Airtel became the country’s largest mobile phone operator, with an estimated turnover of $12 billion, within 10 years of inception.
For a first generation entrepreneur who started off with making crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers, Mittal has surely come a long way. However, domestic leadership is not something which Mittal would settle for. Clearly, it was the global field Mittal had set his sight long back, aiming directly at the goal. It was indeed the Warid deal that came as a major booster to the Indian telecom mogul’s global ambitions.
Even though there are certain constants in his life, including group’s growth, it is Mittal’s business sense which has catapulted him to the same league as the Tatas, Birlas and Ambanis.