Sanjay Sharma: The man behind World Cup trophies

Sanjay Sharma joined Swarovski quite by chance. He was living in Germany when he got an offer from Swarovski to spearhead its drive into South Asia, with the focus on India. He was then working in Germany. "I was more inclined towards sports and technology companies, but I was impressed with Swarovski's history and its impact.... Their plans for India made the decision easy," says Sharma, who designed the Man of the Match and Man of the Tournament trophies for the latest cricket World Cup.

Sharma claims Swarovski India has been growing in the double digits, and weathered the recession with relative ease. He set up Swarovski Elements, the B2B or business to business operation that supplies crystals to industry segments.

As a prominent face on Delhi's social circuit, how does he strike a work-life balance with all the mandatory partying and socialising? "That is the most difficult part of my role as it eats into my personal time," he says. Sharma is passionate about golf, which he took up at the age of 10. His interest in sports has, in fact, led him into designing because he was disappointed with the "cups, vases and fruit bowls" that were passed off as trophies.

"All through my career, I was challenged and given responsibilities that equalled that of an entrepreneur. This has kept me going," says this master's in business administration from IILM, Delhi.

Sanjay Sharma, 37, Director, Swarovski Elements, Swarovski India Been there: Set up Swarovski Elements, the business-to-business division Done that: Exceeded sales targets by 32% in 2010 Anecdote: On his first visit to South India, a client refused to believe Sharma was the Swarovski head because he was just 27 Interests: Golf, skiing, swimming, designing