MUMBAI: Hinduja Ventures Limited-owned IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd is going in for a complete overhaul of its top management.
After having appointed Tony D’silva as the MD and CEO of IndusInd Media and also as Hinduja Venture’s Group CEO – media, the company is also looking at bringing in fresh faces in other key positions, sources said.
D’silva’s appointment has combined the positions of the managing director and chief executive officer at IndusInd Media, which were earlier held by two persons – Ravi Mansukhani as the MD and Nagesh Chabria as the CEO.
Ravi Mansukhani’s resignation has already been accepted by the company’s board of directors. Chabria’s position as CEO has become untenable with D’silva’s appointment.
According to sources in the company, Chabria has resigned and is currently serving a notice period. Indiantelevision.com could not reach Chabria for a comment.
The company sources also said IndusInd Media’s chief financial officer Dilip Panjwani and chief technology officer Vivek Garg too could be replaced soon.
When contacted, Panjwani denied rumours that he has resigned. “This isn’t true. I haven’t resigned and neither am I serving my notice period,” he said.
Hinduja Ventures reported that for the nine months ended 31 December, 2013, IndusInd Media and Communications had revenues of Rs 21.86 million, down 50 per cent from Rs 43.73 million a year ago.
Surprisingly, IndusInd Media and Communications’ revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 has been shown as nil.
For the nine months ended 31 December, 2013, IndusInd Media Communications had a loss of Rs 84.47 million against profit before tax of Rs 16.72 million a year ago.
The poor operational performance and the appointment of D’silva comes in the midst of IndusInd Media’s plans to launch new digital cable services like HD services, hybrid set-top boxes for cable TV and internet and other value-added services.
IndusInd Media has an estimated 8.5 million subscribers across 36 cities and offers over 350 channels in digital mode. It has a backbone of 10,000 kms of hybrid fibre optic network through which it also offers broadband services.
