ITV

Tag: appointment

  • ETV Bangla inducts Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team

    ETV Bangla inducts Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team

    KOLKATA: ETV Bangla, a regional general entertainment channel (GEC) under the belt of Network18 has appointed Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team. Unadkat who has earlier worked as deputy vice president –advertising sales at Zee Entertainment Enterprise, has already taken up the new role at ETV Bangla from 15 May.

     

    While the Bengal GEC market is mainly dominated by Star Jalsha and Zee Bangla, ETV Bangla is now aiming to penetrate more households.  The channel is not only producing original content to increase viewership, but is also making managerial changes to ensure better output.

     

    Unadkat is not the first one to join ETV Bangla from Zee Bangla. It can be recalled that around three weeks ago, the channel had appointed Sujay Kutty as its business head, who had also worked with Zee Bangla as its executive – vice president, business head.

     

    When ETV Bangla officials were contacted, they confirmed the appointment of Unadkat but could not mention his exact designation.

     

    So is ETV Bangla becoming a threat to the GEC leaders in the state? Answers a city based media expert, “ETV Bangla is trying all the means to capture the market in Bengal. It has earmarked crore of rupees for creating original content under the band ‘Duranto Dupur’. Money brings more money. The investment by TV18 is big and it expects a bigger return too.”

     

    ETV Bangla’s programming roster comprises ‘Prathamar Rannaghar’, ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja Bangla’, ‘Ranga Mathaye Chiruni’, ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’ and Sadhok Bamakhyapa among others.

     

    “The channel is spending a lot on original content. Looking at huge revenues, new appointments are likely to play a crucial role,” concludes the ETV Bangla official.

  • RBNL appoints Ajit Singh as national sales head – SME

    RBNL appoints Ajit Singh as national sales head – SME

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network has appointed Ajit Singh as national sales head, SME. Singh will spearhead the sales function with SME clients across the radio and TV businesses.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network national business head – 92.7 Big FM Ashwin Padmanabhan said, “We are delighted to welcome Ajit into the RBNL family. Ajit brings to the organisation a keen sense of setting up and operationalising new businesses, we are confident that under Ajit’s leadership the SME vertical will flourish and grow.”

     

    Singh has over 11 years of work experience across sales, product development, compliance, new branch distribution management including break-even across the banking and insurance industry while working across different client segments.

     

    Singh said, “I believe the Media and Entertainment industry will grow at a good pace and there will be immense opportunities for learning and growth during my stint here. My agenda will be to build the company’s respectability and partnership with new and existing SME clients, while making the brand experience more enjoyable. I’m looking forward to carrying forward the fantastic work at Reliance Broadcast Network.”

  • Vdopia appoints Ajay Prakash Mishra as APAC director- operations

    Vdopia appoints Ajay Prakash Mishra as APAC director- operations

    NEW DELHI: Vdopia, an online and mobile video and media platform has appointed Ajay Prakash Mishra as APAC director -operations.

     

    As part of Vdopia’s rapid and continued strategic global growth, the company introduced the Global Operations and Media Hub in Gurgaon and infused new talent in local and global teams. Strengthening the leadership ranks further is Mishra, who brings with him 10 years of experience in operations, business analysis and client servicing.

     

    At Vdopia, Mishra will be focusing on the company’s operations leading its current, high-touch operations model. He will be responsible for quantitative and qualitative analysis to support APAC’s campaign portfolio, shape strategy and identify solutions to business and operational challenges.

     

    Previously Mishra was with xAd, a location-based mobile ad platform where he was director- emerging markets and was overseeing Ad-Ops and corporate-development related activities.

     

    “Ajay is a dynamic leader who brings strategic thinking and maturity, combined with a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to run our operations. He will help Vdopia build on the momentum we’ve been gaining in the last few years,” said Vdopia VP-APAC Preetesh Chouhan.

     

    Excited about working within the Vdopia team, Mishra said, “There is a really good vibe at Vdopia, with openness and a sense of passion to ‘get things done’ for our clients and their business in the most efficient way possible.”

     

    Vdopia’s recent senior hires represent an infusion of new talent and energy into its expanding offices as it continues to develop innovative solutions supporting advertisers who seek more efficiency and reach across all platforms.

     

  • Phil Nelson takes on expanded role at Turner Asia Pacific

    Phil Nelson takes on expanded role at Turner Asia Pacific

    MUMBAI: Turner International Asia Pacific has announced that Phil Nelson has been appointed senior vice president and managing director, Southeast Asia Pacific and north Asia.

     

    Previously responsible for strategic planning and north Asia, Nelson now has operational oversight for the commercial functions of Turner’s business in Southeast Asia Pacific in addition to Japan and Korea. Reporting into him from these three regional areas are Tom Perry, Ron Lee and Robi Stanton, respectively.

     

    Commenting on this elevation, Asia Pacific president Ricky Ow said, “In his new role, I am certain Phil will enable us to optimize our brands and operational efficiency. With his experience of the media business in Asia Pacific, Phil’s role at the heart of Turner’s commercial operations will undoubtedly put us in a stronger position for future growth. His expanded remit will allow us to identify even more new opportunities across the region.”

     

    Nelson joined Turner Asia Pacific in 2010 as the head of business development responsible for business and corporate development as well as strategic planning across all Tuner businesses throughout Asia. In 2013, his role was expanded to include the north Asia business.

     

    Prior to joining Turner, Nelson was managing director of AOL Asia, based in India and responsible for the digital pioneer’s business and operations throughout the region. Previous positions with AOL included general manager, AOL India and various executive positions in programming, technologies and finance based in AOL’s US headquarters.

     

    Before entering the corporate sector, Nelson was a commander in the US Navy and was stationed throughout the world including Japan, the Middle East and Washington DC. Nelson holds an MBA from Harvard University. He was born in Singapore and has spent most of his life in Asia.

  • Rajiv Lochan to lead all non-editorial operations of The Hindu and Group newspapers

    Rajiv Lochan to lead all non-editorial operations of The Hindu and Group newspapers

    NEW DELHI: The Hindu Group today announced that Rajiv C Lochan had been appointed as managing director and chief executive office of the group with effect from 1 June 2014.

     

    According to the Board of Directors decision announced by the newspaper today, he will lead all non-editorial operations of the company and will join the Board of Directors of Kasturi and Sons Limited (KSL), publishers of The Hindu and Group newspapers.

     

    KSL chairman N Ram and co-chairman N Murali said: “In this digital age when the Indian press, and specifically The Hindu newspaper group, faces radically new types of challenges and opportunities, when relevant and rich editorial content that continually engages a variety of readers and best editorial practices need to go hand in hand with a smart business strategy that thinks two steps ahead, operates with a progressive vision rooted in values, and balances its responsibilities of ensuring value to shareholders, a fair and just deal for employees, and sustained gains for readers, advertisers, and other partners in the business, we are confident that we have found the right person to head the non-editorial operations of the company.”

     

    They added: “Rajiv brings to his challenging role as MD & CEO of KSL dynamism and social awareness combined with a winning record as a professional who has led in driving performance and transforming the culture of large organisations in step with rapidly changing times. We are excited about this change at the helm of our business operations.”

     

    Lochan was a partner with McKinsey & Company and founding location manager of McKinsey’s practice in Chennai. His focus in McKinsey was to help leaders and leadership teams drive performance and cultural transformation of their organisations. In addition, he focused on the social sector, primarily rural economic development and financial inclusion.

     

    Lochan is currently the trustee of IKP Trust and will continue to devote time to public health issues in rural India. He graduated from IIT, Madras and has advanced degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia Business School.

  • Naresh Ramnath joins Pioneer Channel Factory as COO

    Naresh Ramnath joins Pioneer Channel Factory as COO

    MUMBAI: There was an itch to do more, something bigger. That’s what got Naresh Ramnath to quit his position as vice president of programming at Astro Malaysia and join Yogesh Radhakrishnan’s Pioneer Channel Factory as COO in mid April.

     

    With two music channels in the pipeline, the company is looking at increasing its portfolio with the first in the line up being a live concert channel that will show recorded versions of live concerts by international rock, pop and jazz bands and later on will also include Indian bands. However, it won’t be restricted to just being a channel but will also be spread as a service.

     

    “Our main aim will be to create brands that can increase the willingness to pay from viewers, advertisers and operators. Apart from this focus will also be on the digital and OTT platform,” says Ramnath speaking to indiantelevision.com. He added that the company will also be keenly looking at launching other HD channels.

     

    Ramnath has over a decade of experience in the media industry starting off with the Zee Network and then moving on to UTV. His earlier stint was with Astro in Malaysia where he was vice president of programming for its channels for over seven years. As far as his new leaf with Pioneer Channel Factory is concerned Ramnath says, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this and it excites me!”

  • Rajeev Suri to take over as Nokia CEO and president

    Rajeev Suri to take over as Nokia CEO and president

    NEW DELHI: Rajeev Suri, who is taking over as the new president and CEO of Nokia, says the company will focus on three strong businesses – Networks, HERE (location cloud) and Technologies to position itself as one of the world’s largest software companies.

     

    The new appointment follows the completion of the divestment of phone business to Microsoft in a $7.2 billion deal.

     

    Apart from Suri, the new team will include Timo Ihamuotila who joins as executive vice president and group CFO; Michael Halbherr as CEO of HERE; Henry Tirri as executive VP, and acting head of technologies and Samih Elhage as executive VP and chief financial and operating officer of Networks.

     

    The old team included Stephen Elop, Jo Harlow, Juha Putkiranta, Timo Toikkanen, and Chris Weber who have already stepped down. Louise Pentland, Juha Akras and Kai Oistamo will step down from Nokia next month.

     

    Suri had recently turned round Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN), the telecom network business, by axing around 17,000 resources, divesting non-viable businesses and bringing clarity to its mobile broadband focus. The NSN brand will disappear as part of the new restructuring and will be known as Nokia Network business. Suri will continue to head this business.

     

    Nokia without the ailing phone business will focus on networks, location and technologies. Suri will draft fresh strategies for leadership position as NSN is behind Ericsson and Huawei in telecom network business.

     

    Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and has held a range of leadership positions in the company. Since October 2009, he has served as CEO of NSN, the former joint venture between Nokia and Siemens that is now fully owned by Nokia.

     

    Suri was instrumental in creating strategic clarity, driving innovation and growth, ensuring disciplined execution.

     

    India-born Suri is the second to be elevated to a major post in an IT company in recent weeks, as vendor Microsoft had recently picked up Satya Nadella as its CEO.

     

    Nokia believes that billions of connected devices will converge into intelligent and programmable systems over the next decade that will have the potential to improve lives in a vast number of areas: time and availability, transportation and resource consumption, learning and work, health, and wellness.

     

    This new world of technology will require connectivity capable of handling massive numbers of devices and exponential increases in data traffic; location services that seamlessly bridge between the real and virtual worlds; and innovation, including in sensing, radio and low power technologies.

     

    “Where it makes sense to do so, we will pursue shared opportunities between the businesses, but not at the expense of focus and discipline in each,” Suri added.

     

    In 2013, Nokia invested 2.5 billion euros in research and development.

     

    Through its networks business (formerly NSN), Nokia will invest in the innovative products and services needed by telecom operators to manage the increase in wireless data traffic which is more than doubling every year.

     

    Nokia will invest in mobile broadband and related services and next-generation network technologies.

     

    Nokia will invest to develop its location cloud to make it the leading source of location intelligence and experiences across many different operating systems, platforms and screen. The focus will be on technology for smart, connected cars; cloud-based services for personal mobility and location intelligence, including for the growing segment of wearables and special purpose devices; and location-based analytics for better business decisions.

     

    Nokia plans to reduce interest bearing debt by around 2 billion euros by the end of the second quarter 2016.

  • Outbrain appoints Gulshan Verma to lead expansion in India

    Outbrain appoints Gulshan Verma to lead expansion in India

    NEW DELHI: Gulshan Verma has been appointed as country manager of Outbrain India, an online content discovery platform.

     

    In his new role he will be in charge of leading the company’s expansion in the Indian subcontinent especially in India where he will be responsible for leading the setup and growth of Outbrain.

     

    Outbrain has seen tremendous user growth in South-east Asia and India in the last 18 months – from zero to over 800 million page views on a publisher network that has grown to over 150 strong in the same time period. Outbrain has also had success recruiting the top talent in the industry, doubling its employees over the course of the past 12 months.

     

    Outbrain regional director SE Asia & India Anthony Hearne said, “Outbrain is the pioneer of content discovery, and we are fully committed to helping more people in India discover the most interesting, relevant and trusted content. South-east Asia and India are huge growth regions for Outbrain, so we are excited to bring Gulshan’s experience to bear to lead the charge in securing continued growth here in India.”

     

    Verma brings to Outbrain over 15 years of experience in the digital media industry, having worked in Europe, North America and now Asia. His most recent role was with Komli Media as chief revenue officer. Prior to that, Gulshan was director of sales strategy for Yahoo! India, and before that, director of product marketing for Yahoo! search marketing in the United States.

     

    Outbrain announced in March 2014 a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with Times Internet to bring the most interesting and personalised content recommendations possible to Times Internet readers.

  • RajDeepak Das joins Leo Burnett as chief creative officer

    RajDeepak Das joins Leo Burnett as chief creative officer

    MUMBAI: Last week, the industry got the news of KV Shridhar (Pops) moving on after 17 years with Leo Burnett.

     

    Today, the agency announced the appointment of RajDeepak Das as the chief creative officer (CCO), Leo Burnett India. In his new role as CCO for India, he will be looking at operations across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai.

     

    Das will be based in Mumbai and will work closely with CEO Saurabh Varma. He said, “I always believed that ‘Agencies don’t create iconic brands, people do.’ And that is what Leo Burnett stands for. In Leo Burnett I want to bring in new trends of communications to make our brands future ready.”

     

    Leo Burnett Worldwide chief creative officer Mark Tutssel who was personally involved in the recruitment process that spanned several continents, said that Das, with his proven track record behind world-class, award-winning work for global brands including P&G, Pepsi, Visa, Pizza Hut and Tesco among others is a new breed of creative, modern-day leader, a holistic thinker with sharp business acumen.

     

    “Raj brings with him an exuberant amount of global experience, creativity, focus and best-in-class leadership.  He understands today’s creative landscape is always-on and always integrated. The decision to bring Raj on board as our CCO holds immense promise for our clients and our creative product. I strongly believe that Raj, alongside Saurabh will form a perfect unity of creative and strategy, making the agency, one of India’s leading creative agencies today, the best integrated agency in the region going forward,” Tutssel said.

     

    “The appointment of Raj and his partnership with Saurabh represents a new beginning and milestone for Leo Burnett India. India’s growing importance as an economic force on the world stage and its rapid change from a traditionally print and TV dominated market to one that will see online ad market reach $1.12 billion next year are key indicators of transformation in our clients’ businesses. We are focused on ensuring that Leo Burnett is at the forefront of this change, with the agility to meet the needs of today’s marketers. I have no doubt that under the combined power of Saurabh’s strategy and Raj’s creative leadership, they will be able to jointly take the agency to the next level and evolve into the new model of HumanKind communications company. Both of them will have the full support of the network to make Leo Burnett the fastest growing and most creative integrated agency in India,” said Leo Burnett Asia Pacific president Jarek Ziebinski.

     

    Varma added, “Five months back we communicated our intention to be the best integrated communication company in India. With the appointment of Raj, we have made a decisive step in that direction. Raj and I will partner to create work that is not only human, but also participative by design. We will focus on work which brings out the purpose of our brands. Ultimately, the route to building the most popular brands is in creating work which creates believers not just consumers.”

  • Turner appoints Marianne Lee as general entertainment head for Asia Pacific

    Turner appoints Marianne Lee as general entertainment head for Asia Pacific

    MUMBAI: Turner International Asia Pacific has announced the appointment of Marianne Lee as its vice president-content, general entertainment. Lee will take over his new role, effective 2 May and will report directly to Turner International Asia Pacific president Ricky Ow.

     

    In this role, she will define and execute content and channel strategy for Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific general entertainment brands. Her focus will include WarnerTV, and two special interest brands, TCM Turner Classic Movies and truTV.

     

    WarnerTV is a recent addition to Turner’s Asia Pacific stable of brands that makes a bold statement and demonstrates Turner’s commitment to general entertainment and to audiences that are passionate about great television. With WarnerTV, the Turner portfolio now includes Asia Pacific’s best-loved brands in the news, kids and general entertainment genres.

     

    Commenting on Lee’s appointment Ow said, “We’re delighted to welcome Marianne to the team. With WarnerTV now a Turner brand, she arrives at a critical time to build on its existing number one ranking and to develop our entertainment brand bouquet even further. Under her leadership, we can look forward to Turner’s entertainment channels scaling greater heights of audience appeal and excitement, as well as more new offerings.”

     

    Lee will relocate to Hong Kong from Singapore, where she was most recently director of programming and acquisitions for Universal Networks International. There she was responsible for the overall program strategy in Asia, including program acquisitions, scheduling, format acquisitions and original productions.

     

    Prior to Universal, Lee was senior director of programming at Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia, a company she was with for almost five years. This followed more than 10 years at Television Broadcasts Ltd in Hong Kong, where she garnered experience in ad sales, marketing and led the program acquisition team.