Sanjay Kaul - Asia’s Best Business Leaders 2025

Frustrated by decades of sluggish innovation and overburdened systems in telecom, Sanjay Kaul joined Circles Group with a singular mission: to bring speed, agility, and global scalability to an industry in urgent need of disruption. As Chief Revenue Officer of Circles Group and CEO of Circles Aspire, Sanjay combines deep international experience with a sharp focus on SaaS-driven, digitalfirst solutions, transforming legacy-bound telecom into a high-growth, customercentric ecosystem. “When I met the founders, I saw the potential to do something truly different,” Sanjay recalls. “They had built a platform with global ambition, and I realised I could help scale innovation, drive operational excellence, and create value the industry has never seen before.” Sanjay thrives in environments that reward agility and rapid iteration. Unlike traditional firms constrained by hierarchy and cautious decisionmaking, Circles Group embraces testlearn-iterate cycles, enabling teams to continuously refine offerings, leverage data-driven insights, and deliver scalable solutions that enhance customer experience. For Sanjay, the role is as much about shaping the future of telecom as it is about driving business growth. By architecting global strategies, nurturing disruptive technologies, and aligning teams behind a shared vision, he is helping Circles Group redefine what is possible in digital-first telecom. Under Sanjay’s leadership, the company is setting new benchmarks for speed, innovation, and impact across the global telecom landscape. Disclosing more about his work and strategies, Sanjay gets into details in this exclusive interview with TradeFlock.

What defining experiences shaped your lifelong learning and positive mindset?

Several moments shaped this mindset for me. Early in my career, I took a role in Europe, far from home, working for BT Consulting’s Global Management Consulting Unit and later Telia. Competing with consultants who had 15–20 years of international experience taught me quickly that adaptability, curiosity, and resilience are non-negotiable. I realised that the harder I worked, the luckier I became. Another pivotal moment came when I was offered the role of Regional Manager Europe at Ericsson with minimal sales experience. My conviction and willingness to learn helped me become one of the top-performing sales leaders in the EMEA region. Soon after, I embarked on an expatriate assignment in South Africa to lead Ericsson’s Professional Services across Africa. In just two years, I built a $300 million business from scratch, earning recognition as the best-performing unit for three consecutive years. Later, I was entrusted with global responsibility for Ericsson’s Service Layer Business, overseeing six R&D centres and Global P&L. I acquired three companies, divested one, rationalised the portfolio, and ran efficiency and sales programmes—turning a loss-making business into profitability in three years. Subsequent assignments, including leading Ericsson’s largest business in India and later Cisco’s Service Provider business across Asia Pacific and Japan, reinforced the same lessons: embrace challenges, continuously learn, and focus on execution. At Cisco, I grew the APJ business at roughly 10% CAGR, with Japan alone achieving over 25% growth. Today, at Circles, I continue this journey, serving as both CRO of the Circles Group and CEO of Circles Aspire in Europe—proof that curiosity, resilience, and a positive mindset remain the driving forces behind impactful leadership.

What defines a visionary leader in today’s fast-evolving Asian business landscape?

A visionary leader today must combine high aspiration with actionable execution, what I call future-shaping, not just forecasting. Breaking longterm plans into achievable short-term goals ensures strategy becomes reality. They must stay attuned to market transitions and adapt strategies accordingly, while creating clarity in complexity by crafting narratives that rally teams in an ambiguous world. Understanding each market’s unique realities and aligning product-market fit is essential. Equally important is building deep human connections—vision without empathy falls flat. Finally, a global mindset that draws lessons from adjacent industries, societal shifts, and policy changes helps leaders anticipate change and drive sustainable impact in Asia’s hypercompetitive landscape.

CRO of Circles Group and CEO of Circles Aspire, how do you ensure growth while serving customers effectively?

As CRO of Circles Group and CEO of Circles Aspire, I view our mission as redefining and disrupting the telecom industry, much like Uber transformed transportation or Amazon reshaped commerce. We enable telcos to evolve into techcos, giving power back to consumers through digitisation and AI-driven solutions.

"Developing a global, high-performing team starts with a clear and unifying North Star—anchoring everyone around purpose, not just revenue.”

Our growth is directly tied to our customers’ success—measured through revenue growth, NPS, and service velocity. I define our achievements by the value we create for them: the more we empower their digital transformation, the stronger our topline and bottom line. Together, we fast-track their journey from traditional telcos to tech-driven innovators.

How do you build a high-performing global team across diverse markets?

Developing a global, high-performing team starts with a clear and unifying North Star—anchoring everyone around purpose, not just revenue. I empower leaders by articulating our mission and values, making them part of defining strategy and execution, because teams perform best when they understand the “why” and “how”. Clear targets and budgets provide focus, while encouraging debate and curiosity around diverse perspectives fuels innovation. Finally, giving leaders authority and accountability to execute—and room to experiment and fail fast— creates new avenues for creativity and growth, enabling teams to excel and stay ahead in today’s fast-paced, digital-first world.