Network18 Group elevates Ajay Chacko as chief operating officer

In a bid to strengthen its core management structure, Network18 Group has elevated Ajay Chacko as the chief operating officer. Chacko joined Network18 nine years ago and prior to being named as COO, he was president of A+E Networks/TV18, the joint venture between A+E Networks of the US and TV18. In his new role, he will be responsible for creation and management of network-wide properties and institutionalise processes and models that unleash value across the group and its ventures.

"In the next phase, we intend to consolidate the strengths of each business across the network, extract value through focus on internal assets and thus better our offerings to external constituencies all around. Ajay has been key to the success of some of these businesses and in this new role, he will bring his expertise, foresight, operational and people skills to achieve what we've set out to accomplish," said B. Sai Kumar, group CEO at Network18.

Commenting on his new role, Chacko said, "We have been seen to be a diverse and talented set of people running some of the country's most successful media brands. I hope to help strengthen the collaboration between our various business units and functions with a view to improve financially as well operationally and emerge stronger as one network."

Earlier, Chacko led many of the group's businesses such as CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and Forbes India. Prior to joining Network18, he had worked with IL&FS and had been a part of the startup team at Sharekhan. He started his career with the Indian Express Group where he worked in various capacities.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)