ITV

Tag: CFO

  • Zeel adds more zeal with Mihir Modi as CFO

    Zeel adds more zeal with Mihir Modi as CFO

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) today appointed Mihir Modi as chief finance & strategy officer in place of Hitesh Vakil, who is now elevated as CEO – service excellence.
    Recognising his valuable contribution, the company has elevated Hitesh Vakil as the CEO – service excellence

    Hitesh Vakil has been with Zeel for the last 19 years, and has been an integral part of the company’s journey of over two decades. Recognising his valuable contribution, the company has elevated him as the CEO – service excellence, making him responsible of setting up a state-of-the-art shared service centre which will offer shared services across the group.

    Modi, a chartered accountant and post graduate in management from Indian School of Business (ISB), comes with over 16 years of experience spanning across M&A, strategy, finance and general management in diverse businesses across Europe, Africa and India in varied roles. His last assignment was as CFO-Darling Business (JV between Godrej and Darling Group) at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Modi as chief finance & strategy officer will be responsible for finance, strategy and business development.   

    Modi’s appointment is with effect from 10 October, 2013 and he will directly report in to Zeel MD & CEO Punit Goenka.

  • Chinta Shyamsundar returns as CEO of Asianet News Network

    Chinta Shyamsundar returns as CEO of Asianet News Network

    BENGALURU: Chinta Shyamsundar will return as CEO of Asianet News Network (ANN) to steer Rajeev Chandrashekar-promoted Jupiter Media & Entertainment Venture’s (JMEV) news business following the exit of Suresh Selvaraj.

     

    Shyamsundar is currently serving as the Director of JMEV, a subsidiary of Jupiter Capital Venture.

     

    An MBA in Finance, Shyamsundar has been with JMEV for almost four years working in various capacities like CEO, CFO and COO. Infact he was Executive Director and CEO of ANN till February, 2012.

     

    His responsibilities at JMEV included value creation and acceleration for all media and entertainment ventures including regional news channels (Suvarna News 24×7, Asianet News), regional Print Media (Kannada), FM radio channels 91.9 (Bangalore, Goa & Kerala), and live music (Indigo Music).

     

    As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Suresh Selvaraj whom Shyamsundar now replaces, had quit the company as CEO and executive director of ANN after spending almost a year at the company. He had joined ANN in February 2012 from Outlook Group, where he spent almost 13 years.

     

    Selvaraj’s last day at ANN was 29 March.

     

    JMEV owns and operates Kannada news channel Suvarna News 24×7 and Malayalam news channel Asianet News. The company also owns and operates radio brands including Best FM and Radio Indigo.

  • Umesh Pradhan joins Zee Learn as CFO

    MUMBAI: Zee Learn Limited (ZNL) has appointed Umesh Pradhan as the chief financial officer of the company with effect from 2 January.

    Pradhan replaces Arun Kabra who had quit the company on 5 December.

    As the CFO of ZNL, Pradhan will be responsible for all the companies and the trust associated with the education sector for the Essel Group.

    Zee Learn is also looking after content and channel management of the recently launched edutainment channel ZeeQ. The channel is housed under Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

  • Grey Group elevates Sujit Sen to South Asia CFO

    MUMBAI: WPP‘s integrated marketing communications agency Grey Group has elevated Sujit Sen to the post of chief financial officer South Asia. He will be responsible for operations in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

    Sen‘s new responsibilities are applicable with immediate effect. He held the post of Grey Group India SVP and financial controller till now where he was in charge of commercial, financial and accounting for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

    He will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Grey Group Asia Pacific CFO Loh Wei Ping and Grey Group India president and CEO Jishnu Sen.

    Sujit is a veteran in the Grey Group having been with it for over 20 years since 1991. He joined Grey at its Kolkata office as an accounts manager and has over the years worked closely with Late Vinod Prabhakar since he joined the Grey Mumbai team in 1996 as the group head for accounts. He was in charge of all commercial and accounting functions for all five branches and divisions in India. In 2000, he was promoted to general manager, where he spearheaded the implementation of global commercial systems and procedures.

    He was also regional client finance director, tasked with the stewardship, compliance and commercial aspects for Procter & Gamble, Asia Pacific and the lead client contact for all financial matters related to the account.

  • CFOs to play bigger role in media and entertainment business: E&Y

    MUMBAI: Media and entertainment companies are redifining the role of their finance executives in the changing landscape of convergence and competition, according to a report by Ernst & Young.

    “As companies scale up, the chief financial officer’s role is becoming increasingly critical both in capital raising for growth and management of risks,” the survey said.
    Driving this change are the advances in mobile technologies and increasing public expectations as on-demand content gains in the marketplace. The key agents for change in the industry are changing content and distribution models as well as mobile entertainment devices.

    The survey, “Center Stage: CFOs and Finance Executives In The Spotlight Of An Industry In Transition,” was released in Mumbai today by Ernst & Young global head – media & entertainment practice John Nendick. The interview covered over 200 finance executives including views of 46 CFOs (six from India) and 140 online participants from major media and entertainment (M&E) companies across the world.

    Says John Nendick, “We are delighted to release this global survey in Mumbai, which is home to one of the most vibrant and fastest-growing M&E markets in the world today. Several Indian M&E players are in the midst of rapid transition, brought on by a booming consumer base and the twin forces of convergence and competition.”

    Finance executives are playing a larger role in the media and entertainment industry, which includes moving beyond handling the plain vanilla finance function to assisting the CEO in strategic decision-making, including scenario analysis, customer product analysis and investment optimisation.

    “Maintaining a risk-reward balance, rapid changes in the M&E industry have made it more complex and unpredictable. While this has brought many opportunities, there are risks that also have to be considered. This has placed the CFO function in a critical position. CFOs in the M&E space have to analyse how enterprise can derive more value from existing investments and operations,” the study points out.

    CFOs play a key role in mergers and acquisitions activity, starting from assessment, evaluation and integration. This includes post merger performance tracking of an acquired entity against original investment criteria.

    CFOs interviewed in the study also feel that they are prone to missing out on opportunities to reduce taxes. According to the study, 76 per cent of the CFOs believe tax planning should be a key priority for executives.

    Anytime Anywhere Entertainment

    Changing content and distribution models will have a severe impact on the industry over the next two to three years, 86 per cent of participants felt.

    Adoption of personal entertainment and communication devices (MP3 players, mobile telephones etc.) will have the greatest impact, according to 79 per cent of the participants. Expanding global universe of mobile wireless subscribers ensures that the ‘anytime, anywhere’ entertainment will continue.

    According to the study, finance executives of global M&E companies believe that the businesses that will emerge as winners are those that welcome the new distribution channels and are capable of identifying the right content for the specific delivery vehicle.

    The Future is Internet

    To the question of business models for media and entertainment companies most likely to thrive in future, 77 per cent of the study participants consider Internet media providers as the most likely market winners, whereas only 24 per cent view cable operators as thriving businesses in the future. New (independent or cable channel) content creation and electronic gaming are rated as second and third business models in a best position to thrive.

    Radio broadcasting, newspapers and periodical publishing are not thriving business models, CFOs and finance heads of global M&E companies said. Whiler only 11 per cent favoured radio, 13 per cent were keen on publishing businesses as best positioned to thrive in next two to three years.

    The survey is a continuation of Ernst & Young’s series of studies exploring strategic issues and trends transforming the media and entertainment industry worldwide.

  • Anthony Dale is FCC acting MD

    Anthony Dale is FCC acting MD

    MUMBAI: US media regulatory body Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin J. Martin has named Anthony Dale as FCC acting MD and Mark Stephens as acting CFO.

    Dale has been with the FCC for almost 10 years working on a broad range of management and policy roles. Most recently, Dale served as acting deputy M D in the commission’s office of MD. Dale also served as interim director of the Commission’s Office of Legislative Affairs.

    He served in management positions in the Wireline Competition Bureau where he also served as special advisor for homeland security, the International Bureau, the Enforcement Bureau, and the Common Carrier Bureau. In these roles, Mr. Dale supervised a variety of issues, including Universal Service Fund policy and management issues, budget presentation and execution, financial reporting and compliance, audits and investigations, mergers and competition policy, homeland security matters, and various proceedings addressing telecommunications issues.

    Stephens has over two decades experience in financial management, auditing, and accounting in both the public and the private sectors. Most recently, Stephens served as acting deputy CFO in the commission’s office of MD. In that capacity, he managed the commission’s financial reporting and compliance, oversaw preparation and implementation of the Commission’s budget, and provided advice on financial management and accounting matters.

    Stephens also served as special advisor for Universal Service Fund Oversight in the Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau, where he worked to strengthen the FCC’s safeguards against potential waste, fraud, and abuse. Stephens also worked as a senior audit manager and systems accountant in the Wireline Competition Bureau (including the former Common Carrier Bureau) and the Enforcement Bureau.