Tasked with growing Aircel’s business in a market that has a lower mobile penetration than the national average, Dibyajyoti Khaund, circle business head, Assam, finds his current job extremely challenging. The low mobile penetration presents a huge potential for growth, he points out. “Two-thirds of the population in the state comprises youth, who are the prime users of data. The focus is on increasing the revenue market share and growing the data market by offering innovative data products and providing complete telecom solutions to the small and medium enterprise segment,” he says.

Khaund is of the view that with the development of the ecosystem around 3G and 4G services, the data business will be a key revenue stream. Identifying technology trends in the telecom space, he states that so far, low device penetration has been one of the bottlenecks in data growth; however, with tie-ups between device manufacturers and operators, and the growing popularity of bundled offers, this is set to change.

An engineer by qualification, Khaund’s industry experience encompasses the consumer durable and telecom industries. Through all his assignments, a key learning has been that each problem has a number of solutions and it is the ability to identify and opt for the best solution that determines success or failure. Describing his management style, Khaund says, “I believe in promoting an open, transparent and collaborative work culture, which is the key to delivering the best results for a brand. I make an effort to recognise and applaud an innovative idea, and encourage employees to think out of the box. I am a firm believer in empowering my team and motivating them to participate in the decision-making process.”

Khaund counts his current stint at Aircel as his most challenging yet. He points out that the operator was a late entrant in the Assam circle, which already had three players at the time. For him, the challenge was to create a young brand and build a youth connect to drive acquisitions and cultivate loyal customers. The challenges notwithstanding, Aircel has, in a short period of time, managed to progress from a virtually unknown entity to the second leading brand in the market.

Outside of work, Khaund enjoys spending time with his family. A health enthusiast, he also makes it a point to not miss out on his daily workout regime.