Network king

In 1997, two years after graduating in telecom engineering, Amit Dhingra moved to Europe with Siemens Telecom (which later merged with Nokia Networks to form his current employer). After 11 years in Europe, Dhingra came back to head the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) Network Operations business, which looks after networks for operators across the globe.

"We are constantly acquiring people as more operators hand over their network operations to us," he says. Dhingra says he is lucky for having joined telecom when it was taking off. Does he look forward to the top job one day? "Sure, I do, ...but I won't restrict myself to telecoms...rather, I would look at all tech-oriented jobs. I consider myself a global executive and can work anywhere as long as it does not disrupt my family as I have a young child now."

Amit Dhingra, 35, Head of Global Network Operations, Managed Services, NSN

• EDUCATION: MBA, London School of Business.
• EXPERIENCE: Siemens Telecom, Celent Consulting, T-Mobile.
• 'AHA' MOMENT: Chosen to lead the integration team for managed networks during the merger of Siemens Telecom and Nokia Networks in 2007-08.
• TOUGHEST CHALLENGE: In his consultancy job when he had to sell 'change' to an unwilling middle management of a telecom firm.