A true professional by all accounts

K Krishnan, chief executive officer, Bharti Telenet, is a professional who never takes decisions on gut feel and always goes on hard facts and figures. A person who has risen on his own merits

K KrishnanK Krishnan, chief executive officer, Bharti Telenet, a chartered accountant by qualification, is a true blue double entry book keeper and he humorously narrates how he actually went through double wedding ceremonies with his wife Sumathi.

It all happened, he says, when Sumathi's (his fiancé at the time) father was seriously ill with cancer and desired to see his daughter married off before he died. So Krishnan with his family and friends flew to Kolkata where he married Sumathi in the presence of a marriage registrar in the hospital room her father was admitted in. A few days later the two of them went through another marriage ceremony this time in Chennai (then Madras) in the formal South Indian Brahmin style. The couple now celebrate two wedding anniversaries.

For Sumathi, Krishnan has turned out to be a caring husband, his other ideal attributes being his impressive height — he stands 6 feet plus — good looks and a keen sense of humour.

Krishnan's close friend B Ramakrishnan, a Crossword bookstore franchisee in Mumbai vouches for his friend's humane approach in life. And the people who have worked with him say that Krishnan has never compromised the careers of his colleagues for his own or for the progress of the company.