If being ambitious beyond realistic expectations can be considered a weakness, I stand guilty as charged,” jokes Sanjay Bhambri. “It is important for employees to go beyond the call of duty and deliver results. This approach makes the difference between being in a company and belonging to a great company. This is the premise upon which I base all my activities and direction as a manager.”
As chief commercial officer with OnMobile Global, Bhambri is responsible for providing direction to the company’s units and for driving its revenue and profitability. This is Bhambri’s third stint with the VAS major over a period of six years. During his previous stints, he served as regional vice-president for emerging markets, and vice-president of its Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa businesses.
Bhambri has over 18 years of experience working with companies involved in the information technology, satellite services, travel, telecommunications, VAS and energy sectors. Of these, he considers his current stint as his most “intriguing” so far. “The challenge of running a dynamic business and driving revenue and profitability across the globe for OnMobile is simply exhilarating. Every day comes with new learning and insights, and I truly enjoy the fact that we are in the business of creating a large-scale impact on the lives of global consumers via the mobile phone,” he says.
According to him, the most challenging part of his job is guiding a culturally diverse global team in a fast-paced market. “Spread across geographies where each market operates differently, not to mention uniquely, I need to be completely clued into the nuances of every market and create a global team culture and environment that will also drive revenues for the organisation,” he says.
He expects the VAS segment to continue to play a significant role in the telecom space. “We live in dynamic times. Earlier, entertainment (music, caller tunes, etc.) was the most popular offering. Now, verticals like education and health care are breaking new ground and are proving to be disruptive forces in the industry. With the rapid increase in smartphone penetration and the growing dominance of mobile applications, there is immense potential in this space that needs to be tapped and made into relevant services that will eventually benefit society,” he says.
Bhambri enjoys listening to music and watching movies. He also tries to squeeze in an occasional game of golf into his schedule.