Draft:Chinnakannan Sivasankaran
Chinnakannan Sivasankaran | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1956 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | businessman, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Aircel, DishnetDSL, Sterling Group |
Chinnakannan Sivasankaran (born 29 July 1956) is an Indian businessman and serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of Indian mobile network operator Aircel, Siva Computers, and Dishnet.[1][2][3][4]
Career
Sivasankaran started his business career in 1985 when he purchased Sterling Computers from Robert Amritraj, the father of tennis player Vijay Amritraj. At that time, PCs were priced at just Rs 33,000, whereas competitors' models might cost as much as Rs 80,000. Through the venture, Sterling rose to become one of India's top three computer businesses.[5]
In 1992, Siva won a five-year contract from state-owned MTNL, which ran telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai. It took Siva little time to sense that the telecom sector would soon be thrown open to the private sector. The possibilities thrilled him. Siva shifted base from Chennai to New Delhi. In 2004, Siva managed to get cellular telephony licences for Delhi and three other telecom circles: Uttar Pradesh (east), Haryana and Rajasthan. Within no time, he sold these licences to his old acquaintance from Chennai, Shashi Ruia of Essar, for $105 million.[3][6]
In 2004, Chinnakannan Sivasankaran bought 65% stake in Barista under his company Fresh & Honest (A Sterling Group subsideary). And his Sterling Group also bought out Tata Coffee's stake later.[7][8]
Founding of Aircel
Chinnakannan Sivasankaran entered into telecom industry at a very early age. Chinnakannan Sivasankaran founded Aircel from Kovilur village, Cheyyar taluk, Tiruvannamalai district and started its operations in the Tamil Nadu telecom circle in 1999.[3][9]
It was once a market leader in Tamil Nadu and had considerable presence in Odisha, Assam and North-East telecom circles. 2G and 3G Services including voice were shut down in all circles after failure of merger talks with Reliance Communications.[10][11]
References
- ^ "Aircel founder C Sivasankaran praises Modi govt, says today's India is not like what it was a decade ago, criticises UPA for pressuring businesses". The Economic Times. 24 May 2024.
- ^ "SIVA Group boss C Sivasankaran on how Indians can prevent heartattack, says most suffer from brain fog due to Covid". The Economic Times. 24 May 2024.
- ^ a b c P., Anuradha. "Chinnakannan Sivasankaran: The Visionary Behind Aircel's Journey". Bru Times News.
- ^ "Aircel goes bankrupt, becomes fourth telecom player to bow out as cut-throat price war takes toll". Business Today. 1 March 2018.
- ^ "'I was pressured to sell...': Aircel founder C Sivasankaran says today's India not like what it was decade ago". Business Today. 24 May 2024.
- ^ "C Sivasankaran: Once the country's most astute deal maker, now a bankrupt entrepreneur". Business Standard.
- ^ "Sivasankaran to acquire 65 pc in Barista". The Times of India. 3 April 2004.
- ^ "Tata Coffee hits upper circuit on Barista stake sale". Business Standard.
- ^ "Aircel founder Chinnakannan Sivasankaran says he lost company as 'politicians intervened': India different now". Hindustan Times. 24 May 2024.
- ^ Gupta, Deepali; Barman, Arijit (15 September 2016). "Reliance Communications, Aircel merger gives birth to Rs 65,000 crore giant; talks on with Sistema for 25% stake". The Economic Times.
- ^ "Aircel launches 4G services in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Odisha". The Economic Times. 17 July 2014.