N Dilip Venkatraman calls it a day at TV18

Venkatraman quits the company to pursue his entrepreneurial interests. Ajay Chacko will oversee the operations of the IBN News Network in the interim.

After a stint of almost eight years, N Dilip Venkatraman, CEO of CNN-IBN and IBN7, has quit the company to pursue entrepreneurial interests.

Ajay Chacko, COO, Network18 will oversee the operations of the IBN News Network in the interim.

At Network18, Venkatraman was responsible for the strategic, financial and operational management of the English news and Hindi news channels from the broadcast company's stable.

In his earlier role, he was responsible for all marketing operations for all existing and upcoming IBN channels and managed the overall operations of IBN Focus, the alternative media solutions unit that develops context for brands through customised content, using a 360-degree approach. He was also responsible for all brand communication for the corporate brand.

B Sai Kumar, group CEO, Network18, says, "Dilip has played a pivotal role in building our general news network, right from the outset. Today, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat are benchmark brands in the general news space and Dilip has contributed significantly to laying such a strong foundation for the future. We thank him for his invaluable contribution and commitment to the group."

Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, IBN News Network, adds, "Dilip's passion and leadership have been instrumental in making the IBN News Network into one of the most trusted news voices in the country today. He has been a great colleague and we wish him the very best for his future endeavours."

Talking about his move from Network18, Venkatraman says, "The past few years have been one of the most fulfilling and exciting phases of my professional career. I'm thankful to all my colleagues who have been a part of this enriching journey and I now look forward to taking on newer challenges."

Venkatraman has over 19 years of corporate experience, of which three years were in the US. Before joining IBN18 (formerly GBN), he held key positions at India Today and the Zee Network.

He was the head of brand management at Zee News and the president of marketing for Dish TV.

He also spent more than a year as the CEO of Pugmarks, a technology company.

Venkatraman is a graduate in Public Administration, and has completed a management programme from IIM Bangalore, and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School, Boston.