Page 57 - Avendus Huran Flipbook 2026
P. 57

Your father built Sun Group from a video magazine into one of       You have said the whole household was obsessed with cricket
                  India’s largest media conglomerates; your mother is among           growing up. What is your strongest childhood memory of those
                  India’s leading business leaders. How do you balance inheriting     cricket-filled days, and how did that shape the way you now run
                  that entrepreneurial DNA with building a leadership style that’s    franchises across leagues?
                  distinctly your own?
                                                                                      Cricket holds a special place for most of us in India. You grow
                  I am fortunate to inherit a strong entrepreneurial legacy, but I    up with it as a part and parcel of your life. My household was
                  have always believed credibility must be earned, not inherited.     no different. My best childhood memories were the tennis ball
                  My father has always pushed me to pave my own path, not             cricket matches we played as a family every weekend. Watching
                  merely follow his. I take inspiration from my parents, but it’s     the World Cup was also something I always looked forward to.
                  important to me that my leadership is distinct. My goal is          Every boundary, every wicket felt like a personal victory. It taught
                  not to replicate what my father has built, but to add my own        me very early on that cricket isn’t just a game but an emotion.
                  perspective and create value in today’s dynamic business            That has shaped how we run our franchises: With the heart of a
                  landscape that is constantly evolving.                              fan first.



                   You have observed Sun TV evolve from a regional broadcaster         You have spoken about starting with the logo, jersey and
                  to a diversified media network. What part of that                   marketing of Sunrisers and then getting pulled deeper into
                  transformation most influenced the kind of leader you aim           operations. What were the first responsibilities that made you
                  to be?                                                              feel, “I am actually leading this now”?
                  I have seen Sun TV navigate multiple shifts in technology,          For me, running a cricket team has never been about a single
                  audience behaviour and competition. The biggest learning            moment where I felt, “I am leading this now.” You can’t think
                  that defines operations at Sun Group is to never be satisfied       that way in this space. A franchise succeeds only when everyone
                  with status quo. The company has always been built on hard          pulls together – from the manager, the captain, coaches and
                  work and the willingness to embrace change fearlessly, even         even the marketing team. From day one, it has always been a
                  if it means disrupting ourselves. That resilience and ability       collaborative effort, the same way it is on the field. It’s never
                  to reinvent continuously have shaped me as a leader. The            about one player but rather a team of eleven. And off the field,
                  most important way of staying ahead of the curve is to create       it’s no different.
                  a nurturing environment that empowers our employees to
                  harness their strengths and that is what I strive to do.












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