NEW DELHI: Vivek Khanna, former chief executive officer of Hindustan Media Ventures, has come on board the India Today Group as its Group CEO. He will report to vice chairperson Kalli Purie, who recently announced the growth of the group by launching seven mobile channels.
The news was announced to the employees by group chairman and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie in an internal communication this morning: “I am excited about Vivek joining us. With his background plus track record and our bench strength, I am confident he will bring structure, process discipline and marketing muscle to our creative genius so we can scale new heights. In all of you, I know I have the best team in the industry which makes me so proud. Now with the new leadership in place, I look forward to a year of exponential growth.”
Purie added that “Apart from his strategic thinking and marketing expertise, I have selected Vivek because he is a ‘people’ person. He has an inclusive style of leadership, works hard and with passion, is goal oriented, pays attention to details, and builds teams. He believes that the right person in the right job is the only formula for good decisions, growth, and organisational success. Like me, Vivek leads from the trenches. He is known for personally going out to close partnerships and service clients.”
Vivek comes with 26 years of solid experience in strategy, sales, and marketing. An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, Vivek began his career with Hindustan Unilever and Aviva Life Insurance. He moved to HT Media in 2008. Since 2013, he has been the CEO of Hindustan Media Ventures.
Aroon Purie said Vivek’s most impressive accomplishments include the turnaround of HT products and brands. Last year, Hindustan Media Ventures was ranked amongst the top five fastest growing listed companies in India. He grew the advertising revenue of Hindustan by 14 per cent between 2013 and 2016; this was 4-10 per cent faster than competition.
Operating EBITDA grew at more than 30 per cent per annum in this period. Circulation of the newspaper increased by over 30 per cent. The top line increased from Rs 6 billion to Rs 10 billion and the company’s market cap doubled to over Rs 20 billion.
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