After Rammohan Sundaram, another co-founder Sunil Punjabi exits NetworkPlay

Sunil Punjabi, co-founder, chief revenue officer and VP (publications) at NetworkPlay, one of the fastest growing digital ad networks,has left the company.

Earlier this year, Gruner + Jahr, the publishing division of the European media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, acquired a majority stake in Networkplay Media Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Punjabi sold his entire stake in NetworkPlay to Gruner + Jahr as he exited the company.

This is the second exit of a co-founder from the company. Only last month, co-founder and CEO Rammohan Sundaram quit the firm, following which another co-founder Ampreet Singh was appointed as the new CEO of NetworkPlay.

In another development, Hitesh Trehan has been promoted as director (sales) and will be in charge of sales & revenues. He was earlier the business head of NetworkPlay Impact, the brand side of business. He has been with the company for over three years and has held key positions such as AVP (sales) and group account director. Prior to joining the company, Trehan had worked with companies like HIT 95 FM, The Times of India and JobsAhead. He holds a BBA from the University College of Business Studies in Shimla.

Commenting on the promotion, NetworkPlay CEO Ampreet Singh said, "Hitesh has been with us for over three years and we felt it would be the right opportunity to raise internal talent to the top management."

NetworkPlay was founded by the foursome – Rammohan Sundaram, Sunil Punjabi, Ampreet Singh and Viren Anand. It was incubated in 2008 by digital advertising agency WebChutney and was funded by Capital18, the venture capital arm of the Network18 group. It provides branding solutions through engagement on web, mobile and DTH platforms, and operates from offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The company has also brought global event franchises such as ad:tech and iMedia Summits to India, in partnership with dmg :: events, an international events company that manages over 80 events in over 25 countries.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)