ZEEL appoints Piyush Sharma as CEO, New Initiatives

Sharma will lead ZEEL's new programming and content initiatives, across TV, web, mobile and on-demand streaming services.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has appointed of Piyush Sharma in its leadership team as CEO – new initiatives, India and APAC. He will be responsible for leading ZEEL's new initiatives which will showcase programming and content across multiple media platforms including TV, web, mobile and on-demand streaming service.

Sharma commented on his joining, saying, "I am very excited about landing this tremendous opportunity at ZEE. Both India and APAC are thriving markets and with the talented teams at ZEE, I am confident that we would be able to create a profitable and large opportunity canvas, while nurturing and strengthening the businesses in these markets."

Sharma joins in from Burda International, where he was serving as CEO for India operations. He brings to the table an experience of 22 years across diverse industries – consumer durables, technology, consulting, logistics and media & entertainment. Sharma has a successful track record of building brands and businesses from scratch, as also being a core part of teams successfully managing Rs. 2500 crore plus businesses.

He is known to be a start-up enthusiast with a proven reputation for value creation and growth. In his most recent stint, Sharma has been credited with creating successful case studies while bringing the licensed editions of some of the world's most powerful international media brands into the country. He helped launch and successfully build, amongst others, brands like Sports Illustrated, Travel + Leisure, Better Homes & Gardens and Maxim.

Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, says, "Strengthening and bringing focus through deployment of right resources in businesses is a part of our organisation's aspiration to achieve continued growth. Over the last two decades, ZEE has been strengthening its position in the global markets. Piyush is known in the industry for his ability to re-imagine businesses and build innovative business models. We have been laying special focus on content in the emerging markets, and we are confident that Piyush's talent and experience will help us in attaining our goal. We welcome Piyush to the ZEE family and wish him success."

Piyush has an MSc (Hons) degree in Physics and an MBA degree. He is an alumnus of University of Cambridge, UK.