Sanjeev Aga

In a business career commencing 1973, Mr. Aga held senior positions in Asian Paints, Chellarams (Nigeria), and Jenson & Nicholson. In 1987, he joined Blow Plast to head the Furniture business, was made Chief Executive of Mattel Toys in 1990, and in January 1993 was appointed Managing Director of Blow Plast with multi-business responsibility including the flagship VIP Luggage business.

In November 1998, he was appointed CEO of the telecom JV, Birla AT&T. He led the company through a period of fast-paced change, through expansions, mergers and acquisitions to be CEO of Birla Tata AT&T, which was renamed Idea Cellular. In July 2002, Mr. Aga left Idea to be with the Aditya Birla Group, where from May 2005 until October 2006, he was Managing Director of Aditya Birla Nuvo, a conglomerate with interests spanning diverse group businesses.

With Idea’s shareholding changing to become an Aditya Birla group entity, November 2006 saw Mr. Aga back once again as Managing Director. The next four years were a period of rapid growth and progress for Idea. The company improved its national market position from No.6 to No.3, joined the ranks of the 10 biggest global telcos, and importantly, became a highly regarded profitable company in a hyper-competitive sector. Mr. Aga stepped down as Managing Director of Idea Cellular in March 2011.

Mr. Aga now engages in advisory and board roles for corporates and not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Aga studied in Scindia School, Gwalior; is an Honours graduate in Physics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi (1971); and a post graduate from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (1973).