Manish Kumar Sharma

Global procurement and digital infrastructure executive with 21+ years of leadership experience across telecom operators, TowerCos and OEMs.

Leads

Telenor's Tower Infrastructure portfolio across international markets, combining category strategy, complex commercial negotiations, supplier ecosystems, contract governance and cross-functional execution. Brings end-to-end expertise across tower leasing and sharing, site build, tower and mast supply, data-centre lease and build models, colocation capacity, fibre, transport networks and Smart City infrastructure. Current portfolio includes sourcing and commercial structuring for Telenor Sovereign Cloud data-centre capacity in Norway, supporting secure, compliant and nationally controlled cloud services and infrastructure designed for scalable AI and high-performance computing workloads.

Recognised for building strategic supplier partnerships, strengthening commercial resilience and governance, and translating technology requirements into scalable, market-aligned sourcing solutions.

Director, Head of Tower Infrastructure, Network - TELENOR PROCUREMENT COMPANY PTE. LTD. - Singapore

(2021-09)

• Lead the global Tower Infrastructure portfolio across Telenor markets, with responsibility for category strategy, strategic sourcing, supplier selection, negotiations, contract execution, governance, spend forecasting and value delivery.
• Own a diverse infrastructure scope spanning network site sharing and tower leases, turnkey site build, tower and mast supply, cabins and shelters, data-centre construction and supply, and data-centre leasing and colocation.
• Direct global category teams and align Technology, Finance, Legal, Security, Business Units and executive stakeholders through SteerCos, Category Boards and structured decision governance.
• Develop scalable procurement models and Global Frame Agreements that aggregate demand, harmonise contractual structures, strengthen supplier governance and enable efficient local execution.
• Lead strategic partnerships and complex commercial engagements with TowerCos, infrastructure providers and data-centre operators, balancing cost, capacity, resilience, compliance, service performance and long-term flexibility.
• Shape new growth areas for the category, extending beyond passive telecom infrastructure into data centres, sovereign cloud-enabling infrastructure and AI-ready capacity requirements.

Director, Head of Tower Infrastructure, Network - Digital Infrastructure, Data Centre & Sovereign Cloud Leadership - TELENOR PROCUREMENT COMPANY PTE. LTD. - Singapore

(2021-09)

• Lead the sourcing workstream for Telenor Sovereign Cloud data-centre requirements in Norway, supporting the identification, securing and negotiation of colocation capacity and the development of commercial and contractual structures with strategic providers.
• Support a sovereign-cloud model designed for secure, compliant and nationally controlled cloud services, with data residency, access control, operational independence and national regulatory requirements embedded in the infrastructure proposition.
• Translate cloud and modern workload requirements into infrastructure sourcing considerations including scalable space and power capacity, resilient power architecture, cooling options, physical security, availability, commercial benchmarking and future expansion.
• Structure engagement models covering interim capacity reservation, memoranda of understanding, framework agreements, technical annexes, pricing principles, risk allocation and transition to binding long-term agreements.
• Bring practical data-centre build experience from a five-year fixed-price end-to-end implementation contract in Bangladesh, covering commercial predictability, CapEx planning and post-contract management.

Head, Sourcing - Smart City Projects & New Product Introduction - INDUS TOWERS LIMITED - Gurugram, India

(2018-02 - 2021-09)

• Led strategic sourcing for INR 8 billion annual spend across towers, battery banks, power electronics, implementation services, maintenance, supplier governance, inventory and annual operating plans.
• Owned end-to-end Smart City programmes covering solution identification, financial modelling, sourcing, execution, contracts and governance across smart poles, Wi-Fi, CCTV, command centres, environmental sensors and IoT solutions.
• Sourced emerging infrastructure areas including IBS, fibre and transport networks, 5G-ready networks and edge data centres; implemented the first phase of the Bhopal Smart City programme and delivered INR 120 million in negotiated savings.

General Manager, Sourcing & Contract Management - TELENOR INDIA / UNINOR - Gurugram, India

(2010-03 - 2018-02)

• Led passive infrastructure and transmission-carrier sourcing and managed 15+ partners covering INR 22 billion in annual operating expenditure.
• Managed tower infrastructure, power and fuel, space, battery banks and leased-line portfolios; led negotiations, renewals, settlements, SRM, SLA/KPI governance and reconciliations.
• Changed the energy model from actual to fixed energy, delivered further efficiency and rental savings, resolved post-licence disputes and navigated an INR 5 billion arbitration to settlement.

Manager, Outsourcing - ZTE Telecommunications India

Assistant Manager, Procurement - Huawei Telecommunications India

Commercial Executive - Siemens Public Communication Networks

Project Lead - Sterling Telecom & Net Systems

Post Graduate Diploma - Business Administration - Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (2009)

Bachelor of Engineering - Electrical Engineering (2004)