Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in cinemas and merchandise. Its portfolio of 38 channels across general entertainment, movies, sports, youth, music and kids genres delights the consumers across the country with its eclectic mix of programming. JioCinema, Viacom18’s OTT platform, is one of India’s leading streaming services and most popular destination for live sports. Viacom18 Studios has successfully produced and distributed iconic Hindi films and clutter-breaking regional films for over 13 years in India.
Jyoti Deshpande is an industry veteran with over 3 decades of experience in the media and entertainment business. On September 30, 2021, Jyoti was appointed as CEO of Viacom18 to drive its transition into a truly integrated media company across broadcast, OTT and content studio businesses spanning general entertainment, movies, kids and sports across languages. This makes her the first woman leader to be named CEO of a Big 4 media company in India. She also serves on the boards of Network18, Balaji Telefilms and JioSaavn.
Rahul Joshi is associated with Network18 Group since September 2015. Rahul has done his Masters in Management Studies from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai University. Prior to joining Network18 Group, Rahul worked with The Economic Times for more than two decades, where he rose through ranks to quickly become one of India’s youngest editors, and has also worked as its editorial director. He also launched ET NOW and helped shape the digital coverage of ET Online. He also has worked with The Indian Express in the past and is also on the board of News Broadcasters Association (NBA).
A turnaround expert and a driven leader - Nina Elavia Jaipuria has played a decisive role in scripting the future growth story of the kids category in India with NICKELODEON and driving the leadership agenda of the Hindi Mass Entertainment broadcast category with the COLORS franchise.
Ferzad Palia leads Viacom18’s Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVoD) businesses Voot Select & Voot Kids. He also helms the International Business, taking Voot to global audiences. With over 23 years of diverse industry experience, Ferzad is seen as a transformational leader, credited with launching several iconic brands, building businesses from the ground up and industry-first innovations. Ferzad joined Viacom18 (then MTV Networks) in 2004 and four years later became the youngest member to be inducted into the organization’s Leadership Team at the age of 28. Fondly called a ‘serial entrepreneur’, his 17 year journey at Viacom18 has seen various milestones across Consumer-Tech & Television.
Mahesh Shetty joined Viacom18 in April 2019 and leads the media & entertainment network’s revenue function across all verticals including Hindi GEC, Movies, Regional entertainment, Kids entertainment, Youth, Music, and English entertainment. An industry veteran, Mahesh has over 27 years of experience in the Media and FMCG sectors, managing varied P&L and functional leadership roles.
Ajit Andhare helms Viacom18 Studios, one of India’s leading film business, widely regarded for its brand of new age Indian cinema. A seasoned business leader with strong track record of delivery in a career spanning 28 years across FMCG & media sectors building factories, brands, companies. Over the last decade Ajit has led business and creative transformation at Viacom18 Studios building an acclaimed body of work & growing the business 5X to its historic best results on revenue & profitability.
When it comes to growing a brand with differentiated content or rejuvenating legacy brands, Ravish Kumar is a commanding voice in the game. In his role as the Head of Regional Entertainment (Kannada and Marathi Cluster), Ravish works towards elevating the Viacom18 network’s Regional broadcast portfolio consisting of Colors Kannada, Colors Super, Colors Kannada Cinema and Colors Marathi to the stature of Hindi mass entertainment channels. He also aims to drive industry trends through innovation and building a cost effective yet vibrant eco-system in the regionalmarkets.
Known to be a non-conformist and a fire ball, Manisha Sharma is the Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18. For Manisha, television is the most impactful medium that binds families together and promotes cohesive viewing. With an objective to engage even the most remote viewer, Manisha is single-minded about bringing to the fore compelling storytelling that appeals to all.
A Chartered Accountant and Certified Financial Analyst by qualification, Mukesh is responsible for managing entire finance function including business finance, financial planning & analysis, statutory and management reporting, revenue assurance, cost assurance, credit & collection and tax.
Gourav Rakshit is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Viacom18 Digital Ventures. As part of the role he is responsible for driving the growth agenda of the network’s digital businesses.
Smita has over two decades of diverse experience and is a multi-disciplinarian professional with cross-industry expertise. She started her career in sales and marketing and made a mid-career move to HR as a strategic HR Head and Transformational Business Partner for high-growth organizations. As CHRO of Viacom18, she is responsible for the People Strategy including Organisation Design, Talent Acquisition & Engagement, Talent Development and Work place services, in close collaboration with the CEO and leaders in the organisation.
A lawyer by profession and a post graduate in Media Laws from the National Academy of Legal Studies & Research, Anil is responsible for managing the entire legal team which enables all business streams at Viacom18. Anil leads a strong team of lawyers spanning across functions such as litigation, contract negotiations & structuring, IP management& protection and advisory services to the network’s five lines of business
Rajesh Iyer joined the leadership team of Viacom18 in October 2020 and is leading the charge for Colors Bangla, Colors Odia, Colors Tamil and Colors Gujarati. A broadcast industry maven, Rajesh has held several leadership positions across organisations such as ZEEL, Star India, Yupp TV, O&M. He also has been a part of Viacom18 for 6 years when he led the marketing portfolio of the network’s flagship GEC COLORS. Prior to his current role, Rajesh was a part of the Network18 team as President – New Initiatives where he worked closely with the leadership team to spearhead new initiatives. As COO of Yupp TV, Rajesh overlooked the operations in APAC and the Middle East, along with leading content acquisition and originals. Previously, Rajesh has been a part of the broadcast leadership team at ZEEL where he successfully launched its second GEC ‘&TV’ in 2015. Rajesh has several notable accomplishments under his hat including leading marketing for the launch of COLORS that catapulted to the number 3 position in its very first week and the number 1 position, 9 months after launch. He also spearheaded the launch of ‘&TV’ in 2015 where under his leadership ‘&TV’ was successful in creating a niche for itself in the market, within the first three years of the launch.
Anshul Ailawadi is the youngest member of Viacom18’s leadership team. He is responsible for the company’s brands in the youth, music and English genres - MTV, MTV Beats, Comedy Central, Vh1 & Colors Infinity. In the past he has worked with the Tata Strategic Management Group, CNBC TV18 and co-founded an e-learning startup. Anshul studied public policy at Columbia University, New York and at the National University of Singapore. He is passionate about international affairs, motorcycling and Urdu literature.
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Grievance Officer – Bhamini Merchant
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