Abhesh Verma joins HT Digital Streams as CEO

HT Digital Streams has appointed Abhesh Verma as CEO. Verma will replace Rajiv Bansal who called it quits in April. Sources close to the development confirmed the news with BestMediaInfo.com.

Verma joins the HT Media’s digital operations from nexGTV where he was Chief Operating Officer since December 2015.

He was previously associated with digital entertainment portal Saavn and Saavn Interactive as Chief Growth Officer and CEO.

Verma comes with two decades of experience across several industries such as entertainment, e-commerce, SEO, advertisement, venture capital and real estate.

Despite having chiefly operated from the US, Verma has successfully developed, implemented and managed many India-centric digital media and advertisement solutions for the organisations he has been associated with. ShopClassic.com, with him at the helm as its President, was driving e-commerce way back in 2000 as a website that allowed Indians to purchase and deliver gifts to each other within India.

Verma was also instrumental in transforming Saavn’s business approach from a B2B to B2C model. By deploying and managing multiple revenue streams including online ad sales & solutions teams for the platform, Verma played a vital role in building up nearly 95 per cent of Saavn’s revenue from scratch. He also oversaw the integration of new site acquisitions into the Saavn Interactive aegis, and was also responsible for end-to-end management and integration of new features.

Holding Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Pune University and an MBA from Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, Verma is a thought leader and pioneer who created and drove internet-based digital media start-ups during a time when the term wasn’t even coined. Several highly successful ventures such as SmasHits.com, India Broadcast Live Inc, MyIndoSpace.com and IndiAds.com under his belt have firmly established his credentials as one of the earliest and most prominent influences in the digital entrepreneurship field.

Before merging with Saavn in January 2009, SmasHits.com was amongst the top three most visited music & entertainment websites in India with monthly visitor traffic of over 30 million. Under Verma’s leadership, SmasHits.com also led the world premiere of Ajay Devgn’s home production ‘Raju Chacha’ (India’s most expensive production at that time), at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The feat, which was unique for a Bollywood movie, is yet to be emulated.

Verma has pioneered the concept of Smash Chat, a first-of-its-kind feature that enabled live celebrity chat in India.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com