BS People: Sanjeev Aga

Getting exit idea

While Idea Cellular's TV ads are busy cashing in on the possible churn after mobile number portability with its "Get Idea" campaign, mastermind Sanjeev Aga quietly announced his exit from the company by the end of the financial year.

Aga started off with the Aditya Birla group in 1998, when he was appointed CEO of the group's telecom joint venture, Birla AT&T. After its merger with Tata Cellular, he became CEO of the company that came to be known as Idea Cellular, a name hit upon by Aga himself.

Aga's tenure at Idea saw a phase of rapid growth, both organic and inorganic. Its acquisition of Spice Communications in 2008 gave the company a foothold in the Punjab and Karnataka circles, where the company became an incumbent. It slowly expanded from being a regional player to a national one. Now, it is the fourth-largest telecom company in the country, with a subscriber base of around 72.7 million.

Aga's name may be associated with telecom now, but his 37-year career started when no one even dreamt of mobile telephony. After an honours degree in physics from St Stephen's College in Delhi and a management degree from IIM-Kolkata, Aga started off with Asian Paints. He held various positions with Chellarams in Nigeria, and Jenson & Nicholson.

Aga's career took off at Blow Plast, where he headed the furniture business, was made chief executive of Mattel Toys in 1990, and, in 1993, was appointed managing director with multi-business responsibility, including the flagship VIP luggage business. He was also managing director of Aditya Birla Nuvo between 2005 and 2006.

After the 58-year-old Aga steps down as MD of Idea, he will continue as a director on the board. Retirement could give Aga more time to watch sports on TV and read. Unlike many of his peers, Aga dislikes golfing and avoids 'tiring' networking parties. His post-retirement plans could also include teaching and writing, as he indicated earlier.