Atul Mehra has a zest for starting things ground up. “Start-up ventures are my forte. All through my career, I have been involved in network roll-outs for leading service providers like Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications. Besides telecom, I have been a part of the FMCG industry and have worked with Nestle,” he says.

As chief operating officer (COO) of the Punjab and Haryana circles, Videocon Telecommunications Limited, Mehra has his hands full. “The company recently got back its licences for six circles,” he says. “Our focus is on gaining revenue market share and acquiring high-value customers. We are still rolling out our network and positioning our brand as one that offers users more value for their buck.”

Mehra sees several parallels between the FMCG and telecom industries and suggests that the former has served as a role model for the telecom sector. “Currently, 96 per cent of the prepaid business in the telecom sector is based on the distribution model borrowed from the FMCG industry,” he says.

Mehra describes himself as a result-oriented and participative manager. “Having set targets for the team, I am watchful of the team’s progress, stepping in and out as per the team’s needs. It is important for a leader to share the larger picture with the team. This gets one a more passionate bunch of people. Most importantly, one has to be seen as a transparent leader and reward performance.”

Going forward, Mehra says that technologies such as 3G and 4G will bring in a major transformation in the industry. In fact, since Videocon Telecommunications has technology-neutral spectrum, it plans to use this to roll out long term evolution services. The company intends to leapfrog 3G and move directly to 4G.

Talking about the challenges before the industry, Mehra notes that the Indian telecom sector faces high taxes. The challenge is to improve profitability. Product and service prices have to increase, and operators have to focus on improving their bottom lines. The industry also faces environmental challenges. “The sector has to deal with issues related to the radiation scare from towers. The industry is one of the biggest consumers of diesel, and there is an urgent need to take steps to reduce the dependence on diesel for powering telecom towers. To tackle these issues, consolidation of infrastructure is a must. The industry is already doing its bit by sharing telecom sites.”

Mehra is an early riser and begins his day at 5.30 a.m. He de-stresses by reading the Gita, and practises yoga to stay “healthy and calm”. He is also a keen marathoner.