Siddhartha Ray: What's the issue?

NEWSMAKER

During one of his expansive moods, Siddhartha Ray, managing director of Data Access, had told a friend that his dream was to see a Ferrari standing in his driveway.

But, aspirants and owners of this Fiat beauty seem to have an uncanny ability of getting into controversy. Cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, who was gifted a Ferrari, got into a tax muddle. And Ray has recently hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Last week, Data Access was forced to defer its maiden public issue after the Securities and Exchange Board of India shot off a letter, seeking clarifications. Ray, of course, says the deferment is a blessing in disguise as he expects a better valuation later, based on the company's March-end performance.

Data Access also lost another significant battle "" Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd matched its rock-bottom carriage and settlement rates offered to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for the US and UK. Simply put, Ray's dreams of getting over 40 per cent of BSNL's outward international call traffic has fallen by the wayside.

Ray is not new to controversy and has shown his ability to bounce back every time he has found himself cornered. The reason: the suave boss of Data Access is extremely well networked.

Telecom rivals have also raised questions on the very low settlement rates that he offers "" they say these cannot be sustained. "We are in the same business and with much bigger operations. The companies are the same, so it beats me how he offers such cheap rates," says a rival telecom operator:

Ray vehemently denies all these allegations. He says he is aware that many rivals call him a grey market operator probably because he has managed to corner over 30 per cent of the incoming international calls business.

Ray is the archetypal Bengali "" he loves his adda and occasionally prepares fish curry at home. And he never gets tired of telling his friends that he has successfully broken the notion about Bengalis being lousy entrepreneurs. Cars and holidays to destinations like Scotland are a passion.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Ray was a general brand manager in the Times group. But he hit big time when he became Star TV's first general manager in India (Murdoch had not bought it then). He was responsible for building and marketing the relatively unknown Star brand.

After a brief stint with the RPG group, Ray set off on his own in 1995. He first ventured into managing and marketing sports events for television. His second call was telecom.

Ray successfully roped in his former employers, Pacific Convergence, as a partner to set up Internet service provider operations in India. But the entrepreneur in him sensed that there were bigger opportunities like international long-distance operations waiting to be tapped.

"He was an also-ran in the Internet service provider business and realised he did not have the cash to build a brand. The same infrastructure could be leveraged for international long-distance operations and could be set up pretty cheap," says an observer.

Ray, of course, has been quick to identify new opportunities and also junk projects with equal vigour. He has given up his plans to set up an undersea cable ("There are too many around"), or set up a neutral direct-to-home television platform.