MAM
HT Media cashes in as Swapnil Ravindran takes charge of South revenues
MUMBAI : HT Media Group has found its new rainmaker in the South. Swapnil Ravindran has been appointed chief revenue officer (CRO) for South, a role that will see him drive growth across Hindustan Times, Hindustan Hindi, and Mint. Ravindran, who took charge in August 2025, brings a two-decade career spanning Yahoo, Inmobi, The Times of India, and Kasturi & Sons, with a strong record of scaling revenue engines across print and digital. At HT, his mandate is clear: accelerate revenue growth, deepen advertiser relationships, and integrate strategy across platforms to bolster the One HT narrative in southern India.
It’s a homecoming of sorts. Ravindran spent a decade at HT Media (2005–2015), rising from deputy manager to general manager. Since then, he has helmed sales at Yahoo, led national digital and print mandates at The Hindu Group, and spearheaded e-business and branch verticals at The Times of India. Most recently, he was associate vice president and response head at Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (Nov 2024–Aug 2025) and before that, director of sales (West & South) at Inmobi.
Over the years, he has managed marquee brands, sharpened sales strategies, and built high-performance teams skills now directed at expanding HT Media’s footprint in one of India’s most competitive regions.
Armed with a PGDBA in Marketing from VIT (1999) and nearly 20 years of leadership across advertising sales, business strategy, and digital transformation, Ravindran is expected to play a pivotal role in powering HT Media’s South operations to new heights.
From Yahoo to Hindustan Times and back again, his journey is a story of full-circle ambition only this time, the brief is bigger, bolder, and distinctly southern.
MAM
Jeff Shell departs as president of Paramount Skydance
Media executive exits amid legal battle with professional gambler.
MUMBAI: Jeff Shell has just had another high-profile exit from a major media company and this time, the drama involves a $150 million lawsuit and allegations of leaked secrets. The former NBCUniversal CEO is stepping down as president of Paramount Skydance to focus on defending himself against a lawsuit filed by professional gambler R.J. Cipriani. Cipriani claims Shell owes him $150 million for crisis communications services and accuses the executive of sharing confidential information about Paramount Skydance, including details of a potential $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and a $7.7 billion UFC rights deal.
Paramount Skydance confirmed Shell’s departure on Wednesday, stating that he is leaving to prioritise the lawsuit. The company added that an independent investigation found no violation of securities laws by Shell.
In a strongly worded statement, Paramount Skydance described Cipriani’s claims as “frivolous and baseless” and said Shell had promptly notified the company of the accusations. Shell has filed a countercomplaint, accusing Cipriani of extortion and defamation.
This marks Shell’s second major exit in three years. He was ousted from NBCUniversal in April 2023 following an internal investigation into an “inappropriate” relationship with an employee who had filed a complaint of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. He joined Paramount Skydance in July 2024 as David Ellison’s right-hand man.
Shell was tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations during the integration of Skydance Media and Paramount Global. He played a key role in identifying cost savings and job cuts ahead of the potential Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
His sudden departure adds to the turbulence at Paramount Skydance as it navigates a massive merger, expected layoffs, and leadership transitions. David Ellison now faces the challenge of managing the brain drain while closing one of the biggest media deals in recent years.
In the cut-throat world of Hollywood dealmaking, Jeff Shell’s exit shows that even seasoned executives can find themselves caught in a plot twist they didn’t see coming. The credits on this particular chapter are still rolling.
