GECs
Pradhan & Chandrashekar call it quits at UTV
MUMBAI: Seven months after UTV made some strategic appointments Abhijeet Pradhan vice president UTV and Venugopal Changrashekar channel director (Sony, Zee, Zoom and Sahara One) have decided to move on.
Both Pradhan and Chandrashekar put in their papers last week.
Interestingly, these appointments were done with the thought of incorporating client servicing processes within the production house. Pradhan and Chandrashekar, both former Contract Advertising employees have enjoyed substantial number of years in the advertising world.
Pradhan will be joining The Times of India’s response section and will be reporting directly to TOI director Bhaskar Das.
Chadrashekhar is currently grappling with two offers, and will make his decision next week.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Pradhan and Chandrashar said, “We had come with a vision of setting up a channel driven team which is similar to the account management process in the advertising agencies. But we think we are better suited in the broadcasting or media arena.”
UTV, after the recent shift of Zareena Mehta to Hungama as programming head, has appointed two creative directors Ronita Mitra from Smile TV and Arif Ali, who is essentially a script writer.
Pradhan who was with Contract for six years, was a brand custodian as well as a founding team member of Core Consulting, which is a marketing/ customer consulting outfit started by Contract Advertising (a member of the WPP group). Cadburys, Godrej and Portico were some strategic accounts that he handled at the agency.
Chandrashekar has had extensive experience in servicing in the last 12 years. In Contract, Chandrashekar worked on international and national accounts like Asian paints, Bajaj Auto, Philips lighting, Heinz, Shoppers stop, ICICI BANK, BPCL and Allianze Bajaj, to name a few.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
