Sharad Arora, chief officer, wireless solutions, mobility with Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) has had a fairly diverse career graph. “My career profile includes experience in the sales as well as  research and development (R&D) functions across various sectors. I have worked for five years in R&D and product development, and spent an equal amount of time in the technology sector. My previous work experience includes 10 years in management roles and global sales and marketing roles in mid-tier multinationals in the technology space,” he says.

So, which of these has been his most memorable assignment so far? “The current one,” he replies. “In fact, my most memorable assignment would certainly be the launch of 3G systems in my current role at TTSL. Other learning assignments have been the ground-up development I did for office automation products while I was with Xerox, and launching a mobile network, which was quite exciting,” he says.

Arora follows an open style of management. “I believe in delegation. I am instinctive and choose my options carefully even though the facts may state otherwise. I believe that having the right people in one’s team is one’s biggest assets. Therefore, it is imperative to give recognition where it is due and provide objectivity for successes and failures,” he elaborates.

His strengths as a manager, according to him, include being committed, hardworking and honest. And his weaknesses? “I get very little time for networking and leisure,” he says.

Nevertheless, he is enthusiastic about the challenges and targets before him. He says, “The challenges before me include launching a portfolio of new business solutions in the emerging 3G, m-commerce and M2M space for TATA DOCOMO. We aim to be the top player in these segments, and ensuring the delivery and profitability of these new applications is the challenge I am looking forward to, and I am confident we will be able achieve the same quite effectively.”

While these targets are still some time away, his current responsibilities are equally demanding. He explains, “Three words best describe my current responsibilities. These are: innovation, solutions and evangelist. The key portion of this comprises discovering, incubating and taking to market new business solutions for the wireless domain.” 

All in all, he is geared up to meet the challenges the telecom market presents and capitalise on the many opportunities it is throwing up. When he manages to take a break from his gruelling schedule, he enjoys playing golf and going for long drives.