Sunil Bharti Mittal
Born 1957 · Age 68
Indian industrialist and philanthropist; founder & chairman of Bharti Enterprises, founder of Bharti Airtel, major figure in telecommunications, education philanthropy and international business bodies.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Ludhiana, Punjab
Born into an Agarwal family; son of Sat Pal Mittal (former Rajya Sabha MP).
Founded Bharti Enterprises
Foundation of what would become Bharti Enterprises — early entrepreneurial activities consolidated into the Bharti group.
Graduated from Panjab University
Earned Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Starts first business (crankshafts for bicycles)
Started first business in April 1976 with capital of ₹20,000 borrowed from his father, making crankshafts for local bicycle manufacturers.
Co-founds Bharti Overseas Trading Company
Started an import enterprise with brothers Rakesh and Rajan Mittal to import items including Suzuki portable generators.
Launches Beetel brand and telecom equipment manufacture
Expanded product range through the 1980s to fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear under brand Beetel/Mitbrau.
Becomes major importer of portable generators
By age 24 became one of India's largest importers of Suzuki portable electric generators (pre-1983 ban).
Government bans generator imports
Indian government imposed a ban on importing gensets; Mittal's generator import business was forced to stop.
Enters telecom: starts assembling push-button phones
Began assembling push-button phones in India under Bharti Telecom (later tie-up with Siemens), introduced brands like Mitbrau/Beetel.
Incorporates Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and ties up with Siemens
BTL was incorporated and entered a technical collaboration with Siemens AG to manufacture electronic push-button phones.
Birth of his twins (two sons)
Two sons (twins) were born on 31 August 1987 (Kavin and Shravin Bharti Mittal).
Father Sat Pal Mittal dies
His father (former Rajya Sabha MP) died of cardiac arrest in 1992.
Bids for one of India’s mobile licenses
Successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licenses auctioned in India (Delhi cellular license bid completed in 1992).
Government approves Bharti's mobile plans
Government approvals for his mobile operations plans came through in 1994, enabling rollout.
Launches mobile services in Delhi
Bharti launched cellular services in Delhi (operations began after 1994 approval).
Forms Bharti Cellular Ltd; launches AirTel brand
Bharti Cellular Limited formed and began offering cellular services under the brand 'AirTel' (brand presence established by 1997).
Completes OPM (Owner/President Management) program at Harvard
Completed Harvard Business School's OPM Program (OPM 27).
Bharti Airtel lists on Indian stock exchanges (IPO/listing)
Bharti Airtel listed on Indian bourses through an IPO (company grows rapidly thereafter).
Airtel becomes India's largest mobile operator
By 2004 Bharti Airtel had become the largest mobile operator in India.
Launches Satya Bharti School Program
Bharti Foundation launched the Satya Bharti School Program (flagship educational program for rural underprivileged children).
Named Fortune Asia Businessman of the Year
Recognized as Asia Businessman of the Year by Fortune Magazine.
Elected President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
Served as President of CII for 2007–2008, leading India's premier industry body.
Awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India
Conferred India's third-highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan, in 2007.
Co-chairs World Economic Forum annual meeting (Davos)
Served as co-chairman of the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in 2007.
Receives GSM Association Chairman's Award
Awarded GSMA's Chairman's Award for contributions to mobile industry (2008).
Explores takeover of MTN Group (report of a $45B offer)
Reported exploration of a possible US$45 billion bid for South Africa's MTN Group (talks ultimately did not succeed).
Ranked among the Top 25 Philanthropists by Barron's
Barron's included him among the world's Top 25 givers in 2009.
Renewed talks with MTN then talks ended
Bharti and MTN agreed to exclusive talks in May 2009 but negotiations ended by late 2009 amid complications and government opposition.
Elected Harvard Alumni Achievement Award recipient (HBS Alumni Achievement)
Recognized by Harvard Business School Alumni (Alumni Achievement Award, 2016 article references him as recipient; notable HBS involvement).
Acquires Zain's Africa business (Bharti Airtel)
Bharti led acquisition of Zain Telecom's Africa operations for enterprise value of $10.7 billion—largest Indian telecom overseas deal at the time.
Son Shravin Mittal joins Bharti Airtel
Shravin Mittal joined Bharti Airtel as a manager after stints at Merrill Lynch and Ernst & Young.
Joins Boards: Unilever and SoftBank (board tenures 2011–2013)
Appointed to board roles at Unilever PLC/NV and SoftBank Corp (board tenures recorded as 2011–2013).
Bharti Infratel IPO raises $760M
Bharti took its tower subsidiary, Bharti Infratel, public in an IPO that raised approximately $760 million.
Ties up with Walmart for Indian retail
Bharti entered a tie-up with Walmart to start retail stores in India (announced 2012).
Launches India's first 4G service (Bharti Airtel)
Bharti began rolling out 4G services in India (HBS timeline marks 2012 as launch of India's first 4G service by Airtel).
Ordered to appear before special Delhi court (spectrum allegations)
In 2013 Mittal was ordered to appear in relation to additional allocation of airwaves (2G/spectrum related allegations); no charges ultimately issued.
Acquires Warid Congo (Airtel expansion)
In late 2013 Bharti Airtel announced acquisition of Warid Congo, becoming largest telecom provider in Republic of Congo.
Plans to acquire Loop Mobile called off
Bharti planned to acquire Loop Mobile for INR 7 billion in 2014 but the deal was subsequently called off.
Airtel launches 4G services in Africa
Bharti's Airtel launched 4G services in certain African markets (expanding its data capabilities overseas).
Joins board of OneWeb and invests in $500M round
Mittal joined the board of OneWeb and was among investors in a $500 million funding round alongside Coca‑Cola, Virgin and Qualcomm (reported 2015).
Shravin Mittal marries Sakshi Chhabra
Shravin Mittal (son) married Sakshi Chhabra in April 2015 in Delhi.
Conferred Doctor Honoris Causa (Amity University Gurgaon)
Received an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree from Amity University, Gurgaon (2016).
Reorganizes Airtel to compete with Jio
Implemented strategic changes at Bharti Airtel in 2016 to prepare for competition from Reliance Jio (4G/price competition).
Elected Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Elected to the leadership of the ICC on 15 June 2016 (later became Honorary Chairman).
Elected Chair/Chairman of GSMA Board (election Oct 2016, term 2017–19)
Elected as GSMA Chair (election announced 27 Oct 2016); served as Chairman of the GSM Association for 2017–2019.
Bharti Family pledges 10% of wealth to philanthropy (Satya Bharti University plan)
In 2017 the Bharti family pledged ~Rs 70 billion (approx.) — about 10% of their wealth — to set up Satya Bharti University to benefit economically weaker sections.
Announces 'war on roaming' — scraps domestic & international roaming charges
Declared end to outgoing/incoming domestic roaming charges and international roaming charges for Airtel customers (Feb 2017).
Conferred Honoris Causa D.Sc. (Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University) & Doctor Honoris Causa (ESCP Europe)
Received honorary doctorates in 2018 from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (Katra) and ESCP Business School (Paris).
Becomes Honorary Chairman, International Chamber of Commerce
After serving as ICC Chairman, he became Honorary Chairman (Economic Times reference June 2018).
Global Mobile Industry honours Sunil Bharti Mittal
Recognised by the global mobile industry (GSMA) for contributions while serving as GSMA Board Chairman (2019 recognition).
Economic Times Business Leader of the Year
Awarded Business Leader of the Year at The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2022.
Bharti Airtel reports FY2023 revenue > US$18 billion; customer base ~399M
Bharti Airtel clocked revenues over US$18 billion in FY2023 and reported a customer base of over 399 million across operations.
Ranked 10th richest person in India (Forbes) — net worth $14.8B
In 2023 Forbes ranked him the 10th richest person in India with an estimated net worth of US$14.8 billion.
Appointed Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
In the 2024 Special Honours, he was appointed Honorary KBE for contributions to strengthening India–UK business relations.
Forbes ranks him 7th on India’s 100 richest — net worth $30.7B
In October 2024 Forbes listed Sunil Mittal as 7th on India's 100 richest tycoons with net worth of $30.7 billion.
Profiled and summarized in multiple publications (continued recognition)
Subject of profiles and features (e.g., StartupTalky piece 20 Feb 2025) that reiterate career milestones, investments and philanthropic pledges.
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