BS People: Sandeep Girotra

Welch fan steers Nokia Siemens Network

“There is nothing more thrilling than being part of history in the making. Nothing has transformed the socioeconomic fabric of India the way telecom has,” says Sandeep Girotra, the new India head of Nokia Siemens Network.

Girotra had a ringside seat to this transformation ever since he joined NSN (earlier Nokia Networks) in 1996. Since then, the company has transformed itself into a $17 billion dollar global firm. And Girotra, in his new role, has been assigned the task to further grow the company in India.

There hasn’t been anything that Girotra hasn’t tried, having held positions ranging from sales engineer, to account director, to strategic business head. So, the 46 year old executive’s first reaction to the announcement was “it (the appointment) is humbling.”

With a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani), Girotra started his career as Sales Engineer with Tektronix India in 1986. Prior to joining Nokia Siemens Networks, Sandeep held various positions in organisations such as RPG Telecom and Shyam Telecom, and Hewlett-Packard India.

However, in all those varied roles, he feels one thing was common. That was to bring simplification to processes and create an environment that fosters innovation. A fan of Jack Welch, Sandeep tries to inculcate the management guru’s advices to evolve his own management style.