| MUMBAI:The
Times Group's non-fiction entertainment and lifestyle channel Zoom has roped in
a former Channel [V] programming professional Suresh Bala as its new chief operating
officer.
With Suresh Bala coming in, the outgoing COO Upen Roop Rai has moved
on to head Integrated Marketing Solutions Group (IMSG) and Indiatimes
as the director, informs an official release.
Bala will report to Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd's executive president
Arun Arora. He is expected to take over his responsibilities within
a week or two.
Prior to this, for the past three years, Bala was in Canada, and before
that he was in the programming function of Channel [V].
Interestingly, Rai came from Times Group's internet division where
he was the marketing head. His last day as Zoom COO would be 1 June.
While, overseeing Zoom, Rai continued to handle Indiatimes.com
in Delhi. He was completely responsible for revenue, marketing and
sales. Integrated Marketing Solutions is also something he was handling.
Under Rai's guidance, Zoom has added various franchisees to mark
its positioning of an Indian lifestyle channel. Commenting on his
move to IMSG and Indiatimes, Rai said, "The experience at Zoom
has been a great one. I was sent here for a year and it has been
a great year. I am already looking forward to my focus responsibilities
at IMSG and Indiatimes."
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