‘Idea was the only one to come out unscathed from cancellations’

For the last three or four years, Himanshu Kapania has not been able to play bridge owing to his busy schedule. Kapania, who learnt the card game in the late 1980s, after he joined IIM-Bangalore, believes that it sharpens business acumen.

“Now I have taken to running – long-distance, not marathon. On an average, I run about 30-45 minutes per day at Bandstand (a promenade along the sea in Mumbai’s Bandra suburb),” says Kapania, Managing Director of Idea Cellular.

The 53-year-old travels to all the 22 telecom circles where the GSM service provider has operations, meeting employees, a few of the company’s 1.8 million retail partners and contact centre operators.

“I love the outdoors, whether it is outdoor travel or outdoor sports,” he says. In his younger days, he played table tennis at the district level, and tennis.

Kapania, who has been credited with taking Idea Cellular from the sixth position in 2006 and making it the third-largest telecom operator, has been made a director of the Aditya Birla group’s decision-making body, Aditya Birla Management Corporation.

“All of us have wide-ranging experience in our businesses, and there is so much to learn from other businesses. So, this formal forum has been created to learn from other businesses. Once we understand the important topics, we can dig deep,” says Kapania.

The body, which meets once every quarter to brainstorm, is tasked with charting the way forward for the group.

Headed by group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, it consists of top executives of group companies, including Hindalco Managing Director Debnarayan Bhattacharya.

“Given the fact that we have a strong presence on the consumer front through telecom, financial services, retail and Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, there is a need to get synergy across the consumer facing businesses,” says Kapania.

For example, Idea is strong in rural markets, while Madura Fashion & Lifestyle has a strong retail presence, and financial services have their areas of strength. “So, all of us can learn from each other,” he says.

In 2012, the Supreme Court cancelled seven of Idea Cellular’s telecom licences. “Instead of succumbing to headwind pressures, we went about our task in a methodical manner, never losing any customer, employee or partner in these markets. In the end, Idea turned out to be the only company in the 122 cancellations to come out unscathed, winning back all seven licences,” says Kapania.

For the Financial Year 2012-13, Idea Cellular reported a revenue of Rs 22,500 crore and EBITDA of Rs 5,250 crore. It also remained the “fastest growing telecom company” in terms of revenue and profit.

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