Arun Sarin
Encyclopedia
Arun Sarin (born October 21, 1954 in Pachmarhi
, Madhya Pradesh
, India
) was the CEO
of Britain's Vodafone Group plc. On June 29, 2008, he announced his resignation as CEO of Vodafone Group. He is a senior adviser at the private equity firm KKR. He serves on the board of directors of Cisco Systems and Safeway, Inc. He received an honarary knighthood from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on March 10, 2010. He is an American citizen.
in Engineering and an MBA
from the Haas School of Business
at the University of California, Berkeley
. Prior to this he did his schooling from Military School Bangalore, Bangalore. He excelled in studies, sports and co curricular activities. He was known for his sharp intelligence and good sporting skills especially in hockey and boxing in school.
from July 1995 and was President and Chief Operating Officer from February 1997 to June 1999. He was then Vodafone's Chief Executive Officer for the United States and Asia Pacific region until 15 April 2000, when Vodafone's U.S. interests were merged into Verizon Wireless
. He subsequently became chief executive of InfoSpace
from 2000 to 2001, and of Accel-KKR Telecom based in San Francisco from 2001 to 2003, while serving as a non-executive director
of Vodafone. He rejoined Vodafone as Chief Executive Designate on 1 April 2003 and was appointed on a permanent basis after the Company's annual general meeting
on 30 July 2003. On 27 May 2008, he announced his resignation (effective July) as CEO after Vodafone achieved record earnings.
He wrote a monthly note to all Vodafone staff, known as "Arun's Corner". This always ends with Arun's favoured epithet "Go Vodafone!"
Sarin was appointed at a time when the investment community wanted Vodafone to concentrate on managing its businesses efficiently and returning cash to shareholders, after its dramatic takeover driven expansion between 1999 and 2002. In 2004 he entered an auction for AT&T Wireless
in the face of considerable hostility from analysts and shareholders, but withdrew when Cingular made an offer he did not think was in Vodafone's interests to match.
He has since focused on emerging markets
such as India, Turkey,and Romania instead of developed markets such as Japan and others. Under his leadership, Vodafone successfully bid U$11.1 billion for 67% stake in the Indian mobile operator, Hutch. Now rebranded as Vodafone, Sarin wants to bring it from the #3 operator in India to #1 or #2. He is also focussing the company on total communications services including broadband, internet and wireless data.
Sarin has also served as a director of The Gap, Inc., The Charles Schwab Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States, and has recently been appointed as a non-executive director of the Court of the Bank of England.
Sarin will be retiring from Vodafone immediately after the company's AGM
on July 29, 2008, when he will be succeeded by current Deputy-CEO Vittorio Colao
.
During his tenure, Sarin, 53, accumulated 28.5 million shares and share options which he has yet to collect. He also has 14.5 million shares and share options which he has not yet cashed, according to the company's annual report and accounts.
After he steps down at the annual meeting, he will remain as a consultant on a "nominal" salary until his retirement next March. Assuming the company continues to perform over that period, when he leaves, his shares and options will be worth just over 22 million.
During his final year as chief executive, Sarin picked up 3,595,000 pounds in salary and bonus, taking his total earnings to more than 25 million according to a report by The Guardian newspaper.
The report said that in the past, Sarin had been allowed to re-invest his annual bonus, which was 2.13 million for the year to the end of March 2008, but because he is leaving the company he will collect it in cash.
Colao will be paid a 975,000 pounds salary, compared with the 1.3 million pounds Sarin received for the year to the end of March 2008, according to the group's annual report and accounts published.
Recent Reports suggest that Arun Sarin has been appointed as senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. ("KKR").
Now, he sits on the Board of Trustees for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley
. The Center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.
Pachmarhi
Pachmarhi is a hill station in Madhya Pradesh state of central India, also known for the Pachmarhi Cantonment. It is widely known as "Satpura ki Rani" , situated at a height of 1000 m in a valley of the Satpura Range in Hoshangabad district...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) was the CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Britain's Vodafone Group plc. On June 29, 2008, he announced his resignation as CEO of Vodafone Group. He is a senior adviser at the private equity firm KKR. He serves on the board of directors of Cisco Systems and Safeway, Inc. He received an honarary knighthood from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on March 10, 2010. He is an American citizen.
Early life
Sarin graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur with a B.Tech degree in Metallurgical Engineering in 1975. He was a resident of Azad Hall. He received the B C Roy gold medal for the best all round graduating student in 1975. In 1978 he gained a MSMaster of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Engineering and an MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
from the Haas School of Business
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Prior to this he did his schooling from Military School Bangalore, Bangalore. He excelled in studies, sports and co curricular activities. He was known for his sharp intelligence and good sporting skills especially in hockey and boxing in school.
Career
He started his career as a management consultant before moving, in 1984, to Pacific Telesis Group in San Francisco. He was a director of AirTouchAirTouch
AirTouch Communications was a U.S.-based wireless telephone service provider, created as a spin-off on Pacific Telesis on April 1, 1994. Its headquarters were in One California in the Financial District, San Francisco, California...
from July 1995 and was President and Chief Operating Officer from February 1997 to June 1999. He was then Vodafone's Chief Executive Officer for the United States and Asia Pacific region until 15 April 2000, when Vodafone's U.S. interests were merged into Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
. He subsequently became chief executive of InfoSpace
InfoSpace
Infospace provides metasearch and private-label Internet search services for consumers and businesses.InfoSpace's flagship metasearch site is Dogpile; its other consumer brands are WebCrawler, Nation, DoGreatGood and MetaCrawler.-History:...
from 2000 to 2001, and of Accel-KKR Telecom based in San Francisco from 2001 to 2003, while serving as a non-executive director
Non-executive director
A non-executive director or outside director is a member of the board of directors of a company who does not form part of the executive management team. He or she is not an employee of the company or affiliated with it in any other way...
of Vodafone. He rejoined Vodafone as Chief Executive Designate on 1 April 2003 and was appointed on a permanent basis after the Company's annual general meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
on 30 July 2003. On 27 May 2008, he announced his resignation (effective July) as CEO after Vodafone achieved record earnings.
He wrote a monthly note to all Vodafone staff, known as "Arun's Corner". This always ends with Arun's favoured epithet "Go Vodafone!"
Sarin was appointed at a time when the investment community wanted Vodafone to concentrate on managing its businesses efficiently and returning cash to shareholders, after its dramatic takeover driven expansion between 1999 and 2002. In 2004 he entered an auction for AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., founded in 1987 as McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc., and now legally known as New Cingular Wireless Services, Inc., formerly part of AT&T Corp., is a wireless telephone carrier in the United States, based in Redmond, Washington, and later traded on the New York...
in the face of considerable hostility from analysts and shareholders, but withdrew when Cingular made an offer he did not think was in Vodafone's interests to match.
He has since focused on emerging markets
Emerging markets
Emerging markets are nations with social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Based on data from 2006, there are around 28 emerging markets in the world . The economies of China and India are considered to be the largest...
such as India, Turkey,and Romania instead of developed markets such as Japan and others. Under his leadership, Vodafone successfully bid U$11.1 billion for 67% stake in the Indian mobile operator, Hutch. Now rebranded as Vodafone, Sarin wants to bring it from the #3 operator in India to #1 or #2. He is also focussing the company on total communications services including broadband, internet and wireless data.
Sarin has also served as a director of The Gap, Inc., The Charles Schwab Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States, and has recently been appointed as a non-executive director of the Court of the Bank of England.
Sarin will be retiring from Vodafone immediately after the company's AGM
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
on July 29, 2008, when he will be succeeded by current Deputy-CEO Vittorio Colao
Vittorio Colao
Vittorio Colao is an Italian businessman, the current Chief Executive of Vodafone Group.-Biography:The son of an officer in the Carabinieri, Colao was born in Brescia. After studying business at Bocconi University and holding an MBA with Honours from Harvard Business School, he spent time in...
.
During his tenure, Sarin, 53, accumulated 28.5 million shares and share options which he has yet to collect. He also has 14.5 million shares and share options which he has not yet cashed, according to the company's annual report and accounts.
After he steps down at the annual meeting, he will remain as a consultant on a "nominal" salary until his retirement next March. Assuming the company continues to perform over that period, when he leaves, his shares and options will be worth just over 22 million.
During his final year as chief executive, Sarin picked up 3,595,000 pounds in salary and bonus, taking his total earnings to more than 25 million according to a report by The Guardian newspaper.
The report said that in the past, Sarin had been allowed to re-invest his annual bonus, which was 2.13 million for the year to the end of March 2008, but because he is leaving the company he will collect it in cash.
Colao will be paid a 975,000 pounds salary, compared with the 1.3 million pounds Sarin received for the year to the end of March 2008, according to the group's annual report and accounts published.
Recent Reports suggest that Arun Sarin has been appointed as senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. ("KKR").
Now, he sits on the Board of Trustees for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. The Center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.