K.K. Shetty, Director, Network Solutions, TE Connectivity, India and SAARC

Shetty observes that the telecom sector started reviving from last year onwards. “After the 2G scam, hardly any investments came into the sector, especially in infrastructure building, fibre installation, etc. This was mainly because people were hesitant to invest. The turnaround came when Reliance Jio started investing a lot of money in infrastructure deployment.”
According to Shetty, several factors are fuelling the demand for data services, including the government’s thrust on digitalisation, the implementation of the Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile trinity, and the BharatNet and Network for Spectrum projects. “The earlier philosophy was ‘roti, kapda aur makaan’. Now we are demanding ‘roti, kapda, makaan and bandwidth’,” he says.
It has been an enjoyable professional journey so far for Shetty. He particularly remembers his stint with Tyco. “The encouragement I received there empowered me. The market was also worth growing and I was passionate about building the business.”
In terms of his management style, Shetty says that he gives his team the flexibility to manage the business and does not get involved in the day-to-day functioning. “A manager is basically someone who offers solutions, but a leader develops people. My focus is on developing a strategy and then selling it to the team, making sure that they buy it, and also helping in course correction,” he says. Shetty believes his passion for building businesses and problem-solving skills as his key strengths. He sometimes gets restless until an idea before him is executed and completed.
His family comprises his wife, his son, who is an engineer, and his daughter, who has completed her master’s in organisational development. The most important member of the family though is Muffin, their golden retriever. “Our whole discussion revolves around her. She is such a great stress reliever,” he says fondly.- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Most Shared
- Related Articles
- Sunil Tolani, COO, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Idea Cellular
- Mahendra Nahata, Head, HFCL
- Prateek Pashine, President, SME Operations, Tata Communications
- Sanjoy Mukerji, Director, Business Operations, North and East India, Vodafone Essar
- Raju Vegesna, MD and CEO, Sify Technologies
- Abhishek Chauhan, Senior Consultant, ICT, South Asia and Middle East, Frost & Sullivan
- Navin Kaul, COO, Viom Networks Limited
- K.C. Narendran, Circle Business Head, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uninor
- S.P. Shukla, President and CEO, Reliance Communications
- Ozi Amanat, Chief Investment Officer, Spice Global
- Navin Kaul, COO, Viom Networks Limited
- Suraj Parkash Sharma, National Head, O&M, TowerVision India
- Abhishek Chauhan, Senior Consultant, ICT, South Asia and Middle East, Frost & Sullivan
- Rajiv Garg, Business Head, Telecom Towers, Moser Baer Clean Energy Limited
- Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, HTC India