News Headline
Movements that happened TV news and GEC channels in 2022
Mumbai: 2022 saw a lot of top-level personnel movements happening in the media and entertainment industry’s news and general entertainment channels. Indiantelevision.com sneaked a peek into these movements to give an overview.
Times Network
Times Network appointed Rohit Chadda as president & COO of digital business and Vinay Sarawagi as senior vice president of digital content. Times Network vice president and cluster head Rolly Kapoor joined The Quint as VP and national sales head.
The network has elevated Mihir Bhatt as business head – Times Influence and named Shivaraman Iyer as VP & national sales head of news & English movies.
The group’s assistant vice-president and marketing head of digital and business operations, Priyadarshi Banerjee, moved on and joined One Digital Entertainment as senior vice president. Times Now Navbharat has appointed Ranjit Kumar as senior executive editor while its revenue head, Gaurav Verma, has decided to step down. Senior editor Ankit Tyagi has also taken leave from Times Now Navbharat.
Times Network senior vice president for digital video, strategy, partnerships, and marketing, Pranav Bakshi, decided to move on from his role to pursue an opportunity outside the company. Moreover, Gaurav Dhawan was elevated to chief revenue officer. Mirror Now also made an appointment of Shreya Dhoundial as executive editor.
Network18
Network18 announced the appointment of Dipika Kaura as editor (standards and practices) and the departure of Vijay Sanil, its former CEO (language cluster), to lead Enterr10 as its new chief operating officer. Palki Sharma quit Wion to join the network as managing editor of a new project.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises sales director Ankit Anthwal and chief consumer & data officer Prathyusha Agarwal moved. Ex-senior vice president Krithika Sriram has been appointed chief growth officer of Plix while Madhu Soman joined Zee Media as chief business officer for Wion.
Disney Star
Disney brought Bob Iger back as CEO after Bob Chapek announced his exit. Mani Rangarajan has been further announced as the finance & strategy head of Disney Star.
Dev Shenoy was named head of ad sales for the entertainment business, and Amrutha Nair was named executive vice president of entertainment ad sales and strategy. The executive director of ad sales for Hindi movies, Ankush Shetty, was promoted to sales director for the HSM GEC cluster. Senior vice president (ad sales) Prashant Shetty took on the role for Hindi movies.
Disney associate director, ad sales Hitesh Shetty now handles Star Bharat. Anuradha Mathu Agrawal leads the Marathi, Bangla, and Odia channels. Executive director Milred Royan oversees Star Maa and Star Suvarna. Baagyalakshmi Nagarajan heads ad sales for the Tamil and Malayalam channels.
Senior VP Samir Kadam is responsible for network accounts and the free-to-air portfolio. Executive director Nikhil Sheth heads brand solutions and new business development. Disney Star also elevated Ambarish Bandyopadhyay to sports sales head and Harry Griffith to rights acquisition & syndication (sports) head.
Disney Star ad sales head Nitin Bawankule joined Amazon Web Services, while its content head, Gaurav Banerjee, joined Barc India’s technical committee. Disney business operations, digital media for direct-to-consumer & international business head Nitin Chawla and Disney Star HR head for APAC & India Amita Maheshwari, both resigned.
Shemaroo
Shemaroo elevated Subhash Somani to lead the Hindi GEC cluster business and roped in Inderpal Singh Jaggi as head of India digital and international syndication.
It has also named Arghya Chakravarty as chief operating officer and elevated Rahul Mishra to head web 3.0 initiatives. Amit Haria has been elevated to become CFO. Prasanna Patil has been promoted as Shemaroo’s global telecom business head.
Sony Pictures Networks Ltd.
Ritesh Arora became the business affairs head at Sony Pictures International Productions, India.
Sony Pictures Networks’ advisor to the management and board, Rohit Gupta, and SET & SonyLIV content head Ashish Golwalkar stepped down.
Sony appointed Shony Panjikaran as GM & head of Sony Pictures Releasing International, India, and Lada Guruden Singh as GM & head of Sony Pictures International Productions, India. Barc India operations head Ankita Maheshwari joined Sony Music as GM-HR & CSR (India & Middle East).
9X Media
9X Media elevated Bhupendra Makhi as chief executive officer, while its chief business officer, Punit Pandey, moved on after 15 years of service. 9X Media senior vice president of finance Himindraa R. Saxena took additional charge of distribution for the network.
Ajay Bedi, Darpan Kindalkar, & Anusri Unnikrishnan have been elevated as the national sales heads of 9X Jalwa, 9X Tashan, and 9X Jhakaas, respectively. 9X Media elevated Deepali Oroskar and Nihal Ghosh to senior vice presidents of advertising sales.
Other movements:
Shashi Sinha was appointed as new Barc India chairman.
Enterr10 appointed Johnson Jain as chief revenue officer.
Endemol Shine’s Anaya Mohanty joined Arré Studio as creative director & development head.
Karan Pherwani and Mrunali Dedhia were promoted to vice president, Chtrbox, by QYOU Media Inc.
Arré Voice appointed Gaana’s Divya Sharda as content head.
Phantom Films’ CEO is Srishti Behl Arya.
Rishi Negi has been appointed CEO of Endemol Shine India.
Malayala Manorama Television appointed Smitha Narayanan as the new head of sales & marketing.
Vice’s Virtue has appointed Hayden Scott as senior creative director for India
Goldmines Telefilms brought Abid Qureshi & Vinod Nathan on as zonal ad sales heads.
Pocket Aces elevated Rayvanta Kumar as head of the direct-to-consumer content business.
Abhishek Kumar has been appointed Group CEO of Balaji Telefilms.
Balaji Motion Pictures roped in Bhavini Sheth as chief operating officer.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
