After ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s Rahul Johri’s recent departure, ZEEL sees further upheaval at the top. Punit Misra, who held the position of President of Content and International Markets, has also resigned. Storyboard18 was the first to report about Misra’s exit.
Misra was responsible for supervising content across ZEE’s television network and its digital platform, ZEE5, both domestically and internationally. Additionally, he oversaw ZEEL’s international operations, which encompass a presence in 190 countries.
In his resignation letter addressed to ZEEL’s CEO and MD Punit Goenka, Misra said, “Hi PG, Please accept my resignation from the services of ZEEL. It has been an incredible 7 years and six months of learning, contributing and growing the people and business along with the team, and I am proud of what has been achieved.”
Misra thanked Goenka for all the “support and guidance” he’s received over these years; “without which achieving what has been achieved would not have been possible.”
He added, “It’s the right time to now move on to the next phase of my professional journey, and I seek your best wishes for the same. I will work out the specifics of the next steps with Animesh, under guidance from you. Thanks once again for all your support through these years.”
ZEEL after the Sony merger collapse
Following the implosion of the ZEE-Sony merger in January 2024, ZEEL’s Goenka initiated a streamlining strategy that included severe cost cutting measures.
At the end of March 2024, ZEEL implemented strategic steps to streamline and overhaul its Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC), cutting the TIC’s structure by approximately 50 percent. More layoffs are likely, according sources who spoke to Storyboard18 on the condition of anonymity.
On April 2, Goenka himself announced a voluntary 20 percent cut in his remuneration. He said, “While I am in the process of implementing the required steps and actions across all the verticals of the Company, I intend the required change in mindset, to begin from my desk.”
“Frugality, Optimization and a Sharp Focus on Quality Content”, said Goenka, are the three key tenets of the plan implemented to drive the Company to the targeted goals. He added, “The organization is sharply focused on adopting a frugal approach, as we move forward towards the set goals for the future… It is imperative to adapt as per the situation and at this point in time, ‘Accountability & Agility’ is the need of the hour.”
On March 9, ZEE made strategic changes in the revenue vertical of the broadcast business. Ashish Sehgal, chief growth officer, advertisement revenue, was made to directly report into Goenka and Rahul Johri resigned. In his three-year stint at ZEE, Johri had led the revenue and monetization vertical. The top-level churn continued with Punit Misra’s exit this week.
Misra joined ZEEL as the CEO of its domestic broadcast business in August 2016. In a 2020 leadership restructure in line with the ‘ZEE 4.0 Strategy’, Rahul Johri was made President – Business, South Asia with the mandate to lead the integrated Revenue and Monetisation team, and Misra became the President – Content and International Markets at ZEEL.
Prior to joining ZEEL, Misra spent 20 years at Hindustan Unilever Limited, where in his last role he was part of the Management Committee of HUL, as the Executive Director in charge of Sales and Customer Development for the company, and a member of the global Sales Leadership team of Unilever.
Read More: ZEE’s Punit Misra quits; second big head rolls after Rahul Johri