Circles has emerged as a global technology company transforming the telecommunications sector. With a focus on digital-first strategies, the company empowers operators to launch innovative brands, enhance customer engagement, and deliver highly personalized experiences. Leveraging cloud-native solutions, AI-driven personalization, multi-brand approaches, and embedded connectivity, Circles helps telcos respond quickly to changing market demands while capturing new growth opportunities. Strategic partnerships and global insights position the company to set industry standards and anticipate customer needs.
In his role as CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) who primarily oversees Circles, Sanjay Kaul leads the organization with a vision to bridge legacy systems and fragmented experiences with modern, scalable solutions. He emphasizes operator-informed technology, practical execution, and customer-centric design, ensuring that Circles equips partners to expand capabilities and deliver meaningful experiences at scale.
Circles consists of three business units: Circles (its B2B business unit), Circles.Life (its B2C business unit) and Jetpac (another B2C business unit).
The Strategic Journey behind Circles’ Digital Momentum
“Telecom needed a fresh perspective and bold action.” This conviction shaped Circles’ entry into the market in 2014, driven by a mission to reimagine the telecommunications industry. While many sectors rapidly embraced digital transformation, traditional telecom operators remained constrained by legacy systems and fragmented customer experiences. Circles emerged with a clear focus on digital-first connectivity, building platforms designed to help operators modernize operations and deliver seamless, customer-centric experiences at scale.
The launch of Singapore’s first fully digital mobile operator, Circles Life, became a defining milestone for the company, generating deep insights into evolving customer expectations, loyalty, and satisfaction. These learnings informed the development of the Circles platform, a full-stack SaaS solution that enables telecom operators globally—including KDDI, e&, and AT&T—to launch digital brands efficiently, enhance operational agility, and deliver highly personalized services aligned with modern consumer needs.
Circles has transformed into a global technology force, working with operators worldwide to revolutionize the telco industry. The company designs frameworks for innovative digital brands, helping operators refresh existing services or launch new offerings with clarity, speed, and enduring impact. Beyond its SaaS platform, Circles operates three distinct businesses, demonstrating Sanjay’s commitment to shaping the future of telecommunications and improving experiences for millions of consumers worldwide.
Building Cultures that Encourage Ownership
Sanjay Kaul emphasizes leadership that combines clarity, empowerment, and purpose. Sanjay believes that teams achieve excellence when they understand the “why” behind a mission and are trusted to determine the “how.”
Sanjay Kaul emphasizes,“To disrupt an industry, we must dream irrationally, because incremental thinking is the fastest path to irrelevance.” This belief guides the culture at Circles, where accountability, curiosity, and proactive thinking are central. Sanjay encourages teams to embrace transformation from within, ensuring that the company remains agile, forward-looking, and precise in its own operations while helping operators reimagine their services.
Growth under Sanjay’s leadership comes from creating environments where innovation thrives and where individuals take pride in the change they deliver. By instilling clarity of purpose, empowering decision-making, and promoting curiosity, he has built teams capable of delivering meaningful impact across global telecom operations.
Ideas that Shape Industry Standards
Sanjay Kaul shapes industry thinking through ongoing engagement and original insights. His approach emphasizes clarity, foresight, and meaningful contributions that set benchmarks for telecom leaders. By actively sharing ideas and perspectives, he inspires innovation across the sector.
- Sanjay Kaul prioritizes sharing knowledge to influence industry conversations.
- He positions Circles as a catalyst for change in telecommunications.
- Sanjay engages audiences through blog articles and the Future Forward: Circles Leadership Perspectives video series.
- He ensures leaders discuss topics such as telecom, digital identity, AI, and customer experience with clarity and insight.
- Sanjay actively participates in major industry events, including MWC Barcelona, DTW Ignite, and MVNO Nation as a speaker or panellist.
- He emphasizes internal research and knowledge sharing, enabling teams to contribute original insights.
- Sanjay positions Circles as a thought leader that inspires innovation and guides the direction of the global telecom and digital ecosystem.
His thought leadership continues to influence how telecom leaders approach innovation and customer experience. By combining vision with action, he sets the stage for the strategies and growth initiatives that follow.
Industry Honors and Acclaim
Following Circles’ measurable growth and global impact, Sanjay Kaul has guided the company to earn significant industry recognition. Circles has received multiple nominations and awards for digital transformation, customer experience, and technology innovation, including honors from Telecom Review, the Asia Communication Awards, and MVNO Nation Live.
Circles has built strategic partnerships with leading operators and technology providers such as AWS, Oracle, and Infosys, reinforcing its position as a trusted partner for telcos seeking transformation.
In the consumer business, Circles has achieved recognition for excellence in trust and service, earning titles such as Most Trusted Mobile Plan Provider from Canstar and Singapore’s Best Customer Service from The Straits Times. These awards and partnerships reflect the company’s vision for innovation, operational, and customer excellence on a global scale.
Awards, Recognition, and Strategic Expansion
Sanjay Kaul has guided Circles into a position of global credibility through recognized innovation and focused strategic advancement. The company has received recognition from Telecom Review, the Asia Communication Awards, and MVNO Nation Live for its contributions to digital transformation, customer experience, and technology innovation. Its partnerships with AWS, Oracle, and Infosys reinforce Circles’ standing as a trusted collaborator for operators seeking meaningful progress.
Circles has also gained distinction in its consumer business with titles such as Most Trusted Mobile Plan Provider from Canstar and Singapore’s Best Customer Service from The Straits Times. Alongside these achievements, Circles has advanced a major milestone through
a multi-year collaboration with OpenAI to build the industry’s first fully AI-native telco platform, beginning with Circles. Life in Singapore before expanding to partners worldwide.
Awards and Recognitions:
- Industry nominations for leadership in digital innovation.
- Commendations from independent evaluators for consistency in service reliability.
- Recognition from consumer-facing institutions for transparency and operational clarity.
Strategic Milestones and Future Expansion:
- Early access to frontier research programs through the OpenAI collaboration.
- Creation of an AI-native SaaS platform designed to improve consumer intelligence and simplify operator workflows.
- A planned global scale-up of the AI-native platform following its launch in Singapore.
- Expansion across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas supported by strategic alliances.
- A collaboration-focused strategy that prioritizes breakthrough innovation over acquisitions.
- Consistent acknowledgment from international telecom bodies for contributions to digital operator advancement.
The System behind Exceptional Customer Journeys
Sanjay continues this strategic momentum by shaping solutions that set Circles apart in a competitive industry. He directs the creation of a full-stack, cloud-native SaaS platform that supports digital-first operator models with efficiency and precision. The platform enables real-time personalisation, fast market launches, and simplified integration across billing, customer management, and analytics.
Sanjay anchors every capability in practical operator experience, ensuring the technology reflects what customers value most. Through this approach, he empowers operators to shift from functional connectivity to meaningful experience creation, strengthening loyalty and long-term customer value.
A Culture built on Responsibility and Trust
Sanjay Kaul advances Circles’ technological ambition with principles that safeguard long-term trust. He ensures transparency, data privacy, and ethical conduct remain embedded in the company’s daily operations. Circles aligns its platform with global privacy regulations, implements strict security standards, and applies responsible data practices across every function. Sanjay reinforces these measures with clear expectations of integrity, creating an environment where accountability guides every decision and partnership.
He extends this commitment into the culture of Circles by shaping a workplace rooted in ownership, curiosity, and empathy. Each employee takes responsibility for outcomes, explores ideas that refine performance, and stays attentive to customer needs. Sanjay unites global teams around a shared purpose that encourages collaboration and celebrates meaningful progress. Through this approach, he maintains a culture that stays disciplined, inspired, and aligned with the company’s long-term mission
A Philosophy Built on Clarity and Resolve
Sanjay Kaul builds his leadership approach on the same values that anchor Circles’ culture and ethical standards. After reinforcing a workplace defined by responsibility, curiosity, and empathy, he extends this foundation into his broader view of leadership. He believes that visionary leadership requires an ability to imagine future possibilities with confidence and the discipline to translate that imagination into meaningful action. He observes patterns before they become visible to others and rallies teams toward a clearer, more ambitious path.
For Sanjay Kaul, leadership gains its strength when bold intent aligns with genuine regard for people. He treats innovation as a way to enhance lives and create lasting momentum. His philosophy reflects a commitment to progress that continues beyond the leader and sets the direction for sustained relevance and shared achievement.
An Open Letter to Emerging Leaders in Telecom
To aspiring leaders in telecom, I want to share a few guiding principles that have shaped my journey.
Start with the customer. Listen deeply. Understanding real needs is the foundation of meaningful innovation. Combine those insights with technology and courage, and you create solutions that truly matter.
Embrace change. Leadership is about guiding people through transformation with clarity and conviction, not maintaining the status quo. Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking, and build teams that trust one another.
Stay curious and keep learning. The industry moves fast, and adaptability comes from knowledge, reflection, and experimentation.
Remember, progress is a collective effort. Lead with empathy, act with integrity, and focus on creating lasting impact.
Warm regards,Sanjay Kaul,Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Circles
