Aravind Santhanam has worked extensively in the FMCG and building materials industries (in companies like Reynolds, Johnson Tiles and Kodak). But he considers himself an “out-and-out telecom man”. He says, “I have spent the better part of my career setting up operations in various circles for several companies.”

He is currently chief operating officer (COO), Tamil Nadu, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), a company he is proud to be associated with. “SSTL is a very employee-friendly organisation,” he says. “It inculcates a sense of pride and ownership amongst employees and makes them feel truly empowered. It also has some of the best processes and systems one can think of. Every day brings a new learning and opportunity at the company. Moreover, with good systems and excellent human resource practices, it becomes easy to share the company’s goals and bring in accountability in every individual in the organisation.”

An engineer by qualification, Santhanam’s present position requires him to oversee the operator’s voice, data and smartphone businesses in the Tamil Nadu circle. “I am responsible for ensuring that the company becomes the leading data services provider in this market. And I do believe that we are in the right place to achieve this,” he asserts.

The main target before him is capitalising on the rapid growth in data services in the state. “Voice has become a commodity today. With the advent of affordable smartphones, the importance of value-added services has diluted as the internet is making available a larger gamut of services for individual users. Tamil Nadu has always been at the forefront of adoption of new technologies and soon we will see smartphones becoming not just a fad, but a necessity for every individual,” he says.

Santhanam has a hands-on style of management. “I like to work closely with my team and mentor them to excel in their areas of work. I like to raise the bar of performance to the next level. This style has always helped me in getting results the way I planned,” he says.

Going forward, he is of the opinion that data services will take centre stage. “The rate at which mobile handsets were taken up by the masses was a success story. Now India, like elsewhere in the world, is on the verge of replicating the same in the data segment as well,” he notes. “The increasing choices and availability of smartphones, and the ready access to high quality data services will accelerate the growth of data usage in the country.”

Santhanam likes to unwind by reading. He also enjoys the occasional game of squash or table tennis.