BBC gets Rohit Gopakumar as VP, South Asia for BBC Advertising

As the business head for all advertising revenue in South Asia, Gopakumar will be primarily responsible for India but his geographic responsibility will also include Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

BBC Worldwide has roped in Rohit Gopakumar as vice-president, South Asia for BBC Advertising.

As part of the new mandate, Gopakumar's responsibility will be to generate local and international sales revenues for BBC's TV and online products including BBC World News, BBC.com, mobile, LonelyPlanet.com, worldwide channels and global brands. Based in Mumbai, Gopakumar will report to Sunita Rajan, senior vice-president, BBC Advertising Asia, who is based in Singapore.

As the business head for all advertising revenue in South Asia, Gopakumar will be primarily responsible for India. However, his geographic responsibility will also include Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Gopakumar will lead a team of 25 news and entertainment sales staff in three offices across India, and manage the existing portfolio of products. He will also provide advice on strategic new business opportunities in the news and entertainment category in the region. Additionally, he will develop strategic alliances with clients, agencies and partners to grow revenues and establish BBC World News and BBC.com as a preferred media partner for Indian corporations and government agencies targeting global audiences in key international markets.

For the record, Seema Mohapatra, who was the erstwhile regional director, ad sales for BBC Worldwide, quit the company in December 2011, thereby ending her twelve and a half year stint with the organisation. She was handling ad sales for BBC World News, BBC Entertainment and bbc.com.

Commenting on Gopakumar's new role, Rajan says, "We are very excited to have Rohit join BBC Advertising in India. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will enable us to shift into the next stage of growth for BBC Worldwide's businesses in South Asia."

Overall, Gopakumar has more than 17 years of experience across the media industry. Prior to joining BBC Worldwide, he was executive vice-president at Aidem Ventures for one year and three months. Before that, he was senior vice-president, NDTV Media for about seven and a half years.

He has also worked with the Times of India and STAR TV.