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Megha Tata on Discovery’s work culture, her leadership style, women empowerment
MUMBAI: Megha Tata, a broadcast sector veteran, moved to Discovery in February 2019. Her arrival could come at no better time for the American broadcaster with special proposition genres looking at innovation for growth. At the stage of Indiantelevision.com’s Media HR Summit on Wednesday, she spoke of her leadership style, challenges she is facing as a leader and the company’s culture of treating employees during an engaging chat with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.
“What excited me in this role is without a doubt the brand. Discovery is a brand I have grown up with not only as a consumer but also as an industry. Discovery India has been here for 25 years and I have worked here for 28 years. So, both Discovery and I have grown together. So, I have a very fond connection and affinity to the brand,” said Discovery Communications India South Asia MD.
When asked what qualities in her attracted a legancy brand like Discovery, she outlined a few probable reasons. The first was credible experience in the broadcast industry, second her leadership skills spanning previous experiences, and third her ability to listen and communicate properly, getting along with people easily, optimism, positivity and the networks she grew over the years.
Yet to reach the 100-day mark with her new employer, Megha explained how Discovery’s onboarding process helped her grasp an understanding of the organisation in the first two weeks. She also added that it is not exclusive to the top executives but to every new hire.
“I have been fortunate and privileged to have inheriting a fantastic leadership team and we all know any organisation is about people. It’s the people who either make or break the organisation. So, I am a big believer in that and I am a very people’s person and my job is to facilitate thinking and give them a direction and vision,” she pointed out.
The former BTVI COO also spoke about the presence of women in the industry.
“I have been in the media industry for almost 28 years and I have seen the change which has happened when I was an executive to where I am today and many women have grown in this industry. They have grown in multiple departments, we have legal heads who are women and we have women in technical departments. In my previous organisation, we hired the first ever female technical engineer representing a news channel. Having said that, more women need to go out there and ask for what they want,” she remarked.
She also added that a lot of women give up because of self-doubt. Hence, she suggested believing in oneself, acknowledging weaknesses while playing to strengths. According to her, asking for more is important as opposed to being subdued.
In this milieu of flux which is happening with the changes, uncertainties and ambiguities, mobile, agile, and entrepreneurship-level thinking is needed in any organisation. One of the challenges, she feels, is the lack of talent to deal with this ambiguity. She said there is a limited talent pool as well as limited opportunities. Either you get experience or you get that agile thinking attitude but getting a combination is difficult, Megha argued.
Talking about her leadership style, Megha said that she is not a micro-manger but needs be in the loop of the overall process. She likes to empower people she hires. The Discovery India topper said if someone has been hired for a certain goal, she believes in the person’s ability to deliver that particular goal. Trust is very important, she added.
In the context of Discovery’s high focus on people and culture, she said that even the HR department in the company is called as ‘people & culture’. She also added that the culture of Discovery is about inclusiveness, diversity, creating an environment of trust and comfort within employees. She added that she does not have any intent to change that but enhance the exisiting processes.
While Discovery’s growth slowed down in the recent past, she sees that challenge as an opportunity. Whether it is digitisation, NTO impact, leadership in the kids’ genre, Megha seems fearless. She also added that her aim is to grow the kids business to emerge as the top three player, along with having new d2c business that's on the anvil.
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Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
