In line with its aggressive expansion into business and economic news, the India Today Group (ITG) has tapped more top industry talent for its Business Today vertical.
The group has appointed business growth specialist and well-known business news genre expert Alok Nair as Chief Revenue Officer, top financial journalist Alokesh Bhattacharyya as Managing Editor and leading content strategist Aayush Ailawadi as Tech Editor of Business Today.
Nair brings with him a deep understanding of the world of media and has been a trailblazer in conceiving deep-rooted strategic partnerships and IPs.
In the past, he has worked with media brands such as The Times of India, Network18 and Bloomberg in various leadership capacities across Print, TV and Digital platforms.
At Network18, he spearheaded the Content & IPs vertical among other corporate responsibilities. Most of the IPs created by Nair are still the benchmark in the Business News space. Nair also headed a management consulting practice that developed growth strategies and sustainable turnarounds for media and non-media organisations.
He led Business Development while managing teams across all verticals scripting a comprehensive turnaround wherever he has worked. He has been uniquely successful in identifying and creating opportunities. His notable work includes the comprehensive solutions he provided to leading bourses, BFSI firms and Large Corporates. He broke the mould by consumer and market expansion, and has been the brains behind marquee awards & IPs in the news space.
"I am thankful to the India Today Group for this opportunity and I look forward to contributing in every possible manner in this phase of exciting growth for the network,” said Nair on his appointment. “With a surge in younger population entering the investing, wealth-creation and spending space, there is a need for a robust platform that informs, engages and enables the youth of India on all aspects of money across asset classes. Brands are today wanting a conducive, credible and engaging environment to effectively communicate with younger audiences. As a network, the ITG is at a unique vantage point to create marquee opportunities for brands across its leading TV and digital assets -- Aaj Tak, India Today, Good News Today and Business Today.”
As the Managing Editor for Business Today, Bhattacharyya returns to India Today Group to begin his third stint over a period of two decades.
In the interim, he has held crucial editorial roles at Business World and at The Economic Times.
In his most recent assignment at The Economic Times, Bhattacharyya was the founder-editor of the ET Family Business Forum and Awards, ET Innovation Awards, and Amrop-ET Best Boards Awards.
“I am delighted to return to Business Today at this exciting time, when media is evolving into the next level of integration between multiple mediums including print, digital, television and radio. The kind of opportunity this provides for both journalists and readers, in terms of content curation, is mindboggling. I look forward to being part of the effort to transform Business Today into a multimedia powerhouse,” said Bhattacharyya on his appointment.
A renowned television presenter, content strategist and multimedia producer, Ailawadi was editor for technology and special features at Network18 in his last role.
Previously, he was anchor and special correspondent at BloombergQuint and was part of the channel’s launch team. At BQ, he managed the evening team of producers and reporters and hosted primetime and technology shows.
He has also worked with brands like Amazon, Walmart, Mercedes, LG, Oppo and Huawei as a content strategist on numerous campaigns.
“I am stoked to be a part of the India Today family. Business Today, TV Today and India Today have always been at the forefront of innovation and it is incredibly exciting to be joining an organisation that is all set to take the world by storm with its unique digital-first approach. The pandemic has only accelerated seismic shifts in the world of technology and I hope to be able to decode these changes, especially for our millennial and Gen Z audiences,” said Ailawadi.
In June, the India Today Group announced the appointment of Udayan Mukherjee, the country’s biggest and undisputed icon in business journalism, as its Global Business Editor and host of a daily business show.
In July, the network named one of India’s most prominent magazine editors, Sourav Majumdar, as the new Editor of the Business Today Magazine, and Siddharth Zarabi, an award-winning journalist and former editor of Bloomberg TV, as the Managing Editor of Business Today TV.
Anirban Roy, formerly with The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, was appointed as Business Today’s Online Editor. The Group named leading financial journalist and anchor Aabha Bakaya as the co-host of its new Business Today TV show.