Jinesh Hegde heads our business in Gujarat circle. He has extensive experience from the telecom sector, and has been working in various Sales & Distribution roles for the last 18 years.

Appointed: June 2011

Background: Jinesh Hegde is the circle business head for Uninor in Gujarat. He joined Uninor in September 2009 and has served as CMO for Gujarat since its launch. Jinesh has 18 years of Sales and Distribution experience, and has worked in the telecom sector since 2001 with companies like Airtel and Tata Docomo.

Education: Jinesh holds a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Karnataka University and has pursued Management studies at IIM Calcutta.

Navarun Sen is our circle business head in Bihar & Jharkhand. He has sales, marketing and leadership experience within the FMCG and hospitality industries.

Appointed: April 2011

Background: Navarun joined Uninor in August 2009 as Head of Marketing in Bihar & Jharkhand circle. Today, he is responsible for Uninor’s business in the circle. Navarun has more than 20 years of work experience, and has worked with with companies like Mahindra Holidays, McDowells, Satyam and Pepsi Co.

Education: Navarun Sen is an engineer and holds a MBA degree.

Sumit Sharma is the CHRO of Uninor. He has substantial experience from HR and talent management in performance-driven international organizations.

Appointed: April 2012

Background: Sumit Sharma is the Chief HR Officer in Uninor. Prior to joining Uninor, he was based in Singapore with DBS Group, overseeing talent management. Sumit has extensive experience in corporate and consulting roles, spanning country, regional and global mandates, and has recognized expertise in strategic HR and talent management. He has worked with HSBC, DBS and GlaxoSmithKline in different countries, and has previously been based in Hong Kong, Indonesia, UK and Singapore.

Education:Sumit holds an MBA from INSEAD, France, and is an alumnus of Xavier Labor Relations Institute (XLRI), India.

Alok Shankar is our circle business head in Kolkata. He came from a similar position in Bihar & Jharkhand. Alok has long experience from the telecom sector both in India and in the Middle East.

Appointed: April 2011

Background: Alok Shankar is responsible for Uninor’s business in Kolkata, after having served as circle business head for Bihar & Jharkhand since launch. Before joining Uninor, Alok served as CEO of a large multinational handset distribution company. He has spent more than a decade in the telecommunication industry working closely with device manufacturers and mobile network operators. His experience includes business development, sales, operations, distribution, retail and IT in Indian and Middle East Markets. Alok has also lived in UAE where he was involved in establishing the first organized retail distribution company in the Middle East.

Education: Alok Shankar is an engineer and holds an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management.

Upanga Dutta is responsible for our business in Mumbai circle. He has experience from both market leaders and recently launched players in the Indian telecom market.

Appointed: June 2011

Background: Upanga Dutta is the circle business head for Uninor in Mumbai. He joined Uninor in September 2009 and has served as CMO for Mumbai since its launch. Upanga has 19 years of experience and has worked in telecom since 2004 with companies like Airtel in West Bengal and Idea in Mumbai. He was responsible for launching Idea in Mumbai.

Education: Upanga holds a BE in Electrical Engineering from DCE and an MBA in Marketing from NMIMS.

Olav comes from the position as Director of Broadband & Telephony, Consumer Division, Telenor Norway where he joined in 2005. Before that he was CEO of the Internet and Broadband company Tiscali Norway since 2000 (which is acquired by Telenor Norway). Olav finished his MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTNU) in 1986, and his MSc degree in Business Administration at NHH in 1989 while working offshore for Transocean. In total, Olav has worked 11 years in the oil & gas industry for Transocean and Schlumberger, spending 7 years as CFO in Houston, Texas.

Rajeev Sethi is our circle business head in UP East. He came to the circle as Head of Sales and Marketing, and has extensive experience from the Indian telecom industry.

Appointed: September 2010

Background: Rajeev Sethi is the Circle Business Head for Uninor in Uttar Pradesh East. He joined Uninor in August 2009, as Head of Sales and Marketing in UP East. He has extensive experience from the Indian telecom industry, having held positions in Mumbai, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kolkata and Orissa. Before joining Uninor, Rajeev was Vodafone’s Head of Sales and Marketing for the Orissa circle.

Education: Rajeev Sethi holds an engineering degree from Gujarat University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Lucknow.

Satish Kumar Kannan is our circle business head in Andhra Pradesh. He came from the position as Head of Marketing, and has long experience from the telecom sector in India.

Appointed: September 2010

Background: Satish Kumar Kannan is the Circle Business Head for Uninor in Andhra Pradesh. Before taking the helm, Satish served as Head of Marketing in the circle. He has over 18 years of experience in Sales and Marketing from diverse industries, primarily telecom. Prior to joining Uninor, Satish was responsible for Vodafone’s sales and marketing function for the Andhra Pradesh circle.

Education: Satish holds an Engineering degree in Telecommunications and is a Management graduate.

Sriram Mahadevan has broad experience from his career as a Chartered Accountant & Cost Accountant and has spent more than 17 years in FMCG, Banking, Retail and Telecom industry. Prior to joining Uninor, he led the rollout of Tata DOCOMO in Kerala as Chief Operating Officer for the circle. He started his career with SREI Finance, Shaw Wallace, Coca-Cola and Reliance Retail.

Yasir Azman is the Circle Business Head for Uninor in Karnataka. He has a background in sales and distribution from Grameenphone, and is the first employee from the Bangladeshi operator to join Uninor.

Appointed: June 2011

Background: Yasir Azman is the Circle Business Head for Uninor in Karnataka. Before taking the helm in Karnataka, he headed Uninor’s business in Orissa circle from October 2010. Yasir joined Grameenphone (Telenor Group’s operating company in Bangladesh) in 2005. He has served different management roles in Grameenphone and was made Director of Sales and Distribution in 2009. He is the first employee from the Bangladeshi operator to join Uninor.

Yogesh Malik is the COO of Uninor. He has held several key technology positions in some of the Telenor Group’s most dynamic markets.

Appointed: November 2010

Background: Yogesh Malik is the Head of Operations in Uninor. He has more than 17 years of extensive telecom experience from some of Telenor Group’s most dynamic markets. Before joining Uninor, he was Head of Technology and Sourcing in Telenor Group Corporate Development. He has also served as CTO of Kyivstar in Ukraine and CTO of Grameenphone in Bangladesh. His extensive career in the telecom industry also includes experience from AT&T, Tata and Ericsson in India and for the international mobile operator TIW (today known as Vodafone) in Canada, China, Brazil and the Czech Republic.

Education: Yogesh holds an Engineering Degree in Electronics from MSU University, Baroda and is an Executive MBA graduate from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Sigve Brekke is the MD of Uninor. He is also a member of the Group Executive Management of Telenor, serving as Head of the Telenor Asia operations. Sigve has broad experience from Asian telecom industry. Before entering Telenor, he was a politician and researcher.

Appointed: November 2010

Background: Sigve Brekke is the Managing Director of Uninor. He is also a member of the Telenor Group Executive Management as Head of the Telenor Asia operations.

Sigve joined the Telenor Singapore office in 1999 as Manager of Business Development and later Managing Director. He also served as co-Chief Executive Officer of dtac (Telenor Group’s operating company in Thailand) from 2002 to 2005, and Chief Executive Officer in dtac from 2005-2008. In 2008, he was appointed Executive Vice-President of the Telenor Group and Head of Telenor Asia, a position he still holds.

Before entering Telenor, Sigve Brekke was a politician and a scholar. He served as the Deputy Minister (State Secretary) of Defence in the Norwegian Government’s Ministry of Defence from 1993 to 1996. He has also held several positions in the Norwegian Labor Party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. He has also been an associate research fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In his free time, Sigve is a passionate fitness enthusiast. Long distance running and a rigorous exercise regimen are a part of his daily schedule. He is known to challenge his teams and colleagues to a hard run – as a way to keep active and sometimes as a technique to help people discover their own professional potential by accomplishing the ‘impossible’ in their personal lives.

Education: Sigve Brekke holds a Master of Public Administration degree from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA. His undergraduate degrees are in Management and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Management and Telemark University College, Norway.