GECs
Bewkes appointed Time Warner president and COO
MUMBAI: Jeff Bewkes has been named president and chief operating officer of Time Warner Inc.
The announcement was made by Time Warner chairman and CEO Dick Parsons.
Time Warner’s Media & Communications Group chairman Don Logan plans to retire at the end of the current year and become the non-executive chairman of Time Warner Cable’s board of directors.
Parsons said, “Since I asked Don and Jeff to help me run the company in the summer of 2002, we have overcome a long list of challenges and put this company back on track. We’ve worked hard to make Time Warner the best managed and most valuable portfolio of world-class media and entertainment assets.”
“Now, after having accomplished all that together, we’re smoothly transitioning our senior management team with Don’s well-earned retirement and Jeff’s well-deserved promotion,” he added.
Bewkes said, “I greatly appreciate the confidence that both Dick and the board of directors have shown in me with this appointment. Most crucial to our future success will be how well we’re able to take advantage of the emerging technological opportunities. I believe no company is better positioned to succeed in the digital arena than Time Warner. There’s never been a more exciting time to be in this business.”
Parsons added, ” Don deserves a great deal of credit for stabilizing AOL and starting its transition to an advertising-based business model – capped by this week’s strategic alliance with Google. Time Warner Cable has delivered financial growth, launched such successful new products as Digital Phone and positioned itself for the Adelphia transaction. Time Inc. has continued to introduce new titles and make strategic international acquisitions. “
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
