Aricent names ex-Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin to its board of directors

Aricent, a global innovation, technology and services company focused exclusively on communications, this month announced Arun Sarin to its board of directors.

Sarin is currently a Senior Advisor at KKR, and prior to that served as Chief Executive Officer of mobile telecommunications leader Vodafone Group, PLC.

"The one common thread today in telecoms is meeting consumers' ever-growing expectations for innovative products and services,” said Sarin. “Innovation and technology are so tightly coupled today that operators cannot look at them separately. Aricent is the first company with a complete solution to this difficult set of challenges, and the future looks very exciting. I'm thrilled to be joining the Aricent team."

Sarin's career began in 1984 at Pacific Telesis Group (PTG), where he pioneered the expansion of the mobile communications industry by acquiring numerous domestic and international cellular licences. He held several senior roles at PTG over the next decade. In 1994, he led the review and recommendation for the spin off of the wireless businesses from PTG, which became AirTouch Communications. Subsequently, he was appointed President and COO of AirTouch in 1997.

With the 1999 merger of Vodafone and AirTouch, Sarin became CEO of Vodafone's US/Asia Pacific region. He left Vodafone in 2000 and rejoined as Chief Executive Officer in 2003. The group's M&A focus was originally based on opportunities in developed markets, but this shifted to incorporate emerging markets in 2006. Sarin then led the company's re-entry into the Indian market in 2007, and also acquired several other mobile operators in high growth regions such as Turkey, Ghana, Romania, Czech Republic and Qatar. In his five years as CEO, Vodafone returned capital of approximately £34 billion to shareholders including dividends and buy backs. He retired from Vodafone last year.

Sarin has an MS in Engineering and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He received his BS in Engineering from IIT, the Indian Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of Cisco Systems, Inc, Charles Schwab Corp, and Safeway Inc. He has served on numerous boards in the past, including Gap Inc, and as a Non-Executive Director of the Court of the Bank of England.

“The trajectory of Aricent's business and the volume of tier one operator engagements globally make this an ideal time for Arun to join the board,” said Adam Clammer, member of KKR. “His contemporary understanding of operators' business and technical priorities will benefit Aricent significantly as the company continues to increase the size and scope of its work with the world's leading communications service providers.”

“Arun's intimate knowledge of the challenges operators face to deliver innovative subscriber experiences in the face of unprecedented technology complexity will provide invaluable insights to Aricent,” said Sudip Nandy, chief executive officer at Aricent. “Our integrated strategy, design and development approach to innovation is unmatched today in the industry, and we are fortunate to have Arun join our board at a time when our operator engagements are ramping globally.”