Turner International appoints Shitiz Jain of Discovery Communications

Jain was with Discovery Communications in various capacities since 1999.

Shitiz Jain, erstwhile senior vice-president and chief financial officer of Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, will join Turner International as senior vice-president, finance, Asia Pacific. To be effective from March 17, the appointment comes close on the heels of Sunny Saha, senior vice-president and managing director, Entertainment Networks, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, stepping down from his position.

The new appointment was announced by Ray Hutton, executive vice-president and chief financial officer, Turner Broadcasting System International and Ricky Ow, president, Asia Pacific, Turner International Asia Pacific.

Jain had been with Discovery Communications for 15 years and joins Turner International in Hong Kong. He will lead Turner's financial growth planning and assist regional management to maximise financial results across the full portfolio of Turner's kids, news and general entertainment brands, and businesses in the region.

In an official communiqué, Hutton says, "Jain has more than 20 years of international financial management experience which we're delighted to harness for this critical role within one of Turner's most important regional operations."

Jain will report to Ow at Turner International.

Ow adds, "Turner in Asia Pacific has ambitious growth targets which require robust financial support and I know Shitiz will serve as a key advisor for me in this regard. Shitiz's strong CFO background and expertise in overseeing businesses across the Asia Pacific region will be undoubted assets for us as we take our business to the next level."

In addition, Jain will have a range of responsibilities including forecasting, budgeting and long range planning, defining and managing the achievement of goals, and providing financial analysis and counsel to all business heads. In this newly created role, he will develop a finance team that will be strategically aligned with the needs of the business. Jain will also offer strategic and financial modelling support at both Turner and Time Warner executive management level.

Jain joins Turner after spending nearly 15 years at Discovery in India and Singapore, where his success in forging strong client relationships and creating new revenue opportunities drove strong revenue and EBITDA growth. Before joining Discovery Networks, Jain worked in a variety of financial, operating and strategic roles with Cargill Foods, Fujitsu ICIM and Phoenix Industries. He started his career in 1993.