Sundar Kondur appointed CRO of The Hindu, Suresh Balakrishnan to retire in July 2026

New Delhi: The Hindu has appointed Sundar Kondur as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), marking a key leadership transition at the publishing house. Kondur has taken on the role in early January 2026 and will work closely with incumbent CRO Suresh Balakrishnan over the coming months as part of a phased handover.

The appointment comes ahead of Balakrishnan’s planned retirement in July 2026. Confirming the development to BestMediaInfo, Balakrishnan said the transition process has already begun, with both executives jointly overseeing revenue operations during a four-to-five-month handover period to ensure continuity across advertiser relationships, revenue strategy and internal teams.

“It will be a slow transition,” Balakrishnan said, adding that Kondur will eventually assume full responsibility for the revenue function at The Hindu. The structured approach is intended to provide stability at a time when media organisations continue to navigate changing advertiser expectations, platform diversification and evolving business models.

Kondur brings nearly three decades of experience in the media industry to his new role. A Chennai native, he began his career in 2003 as Publisher and General Manager at Mid Day, before moving on to senior leadership positions across several major media organisations.

He spent a significant part of his career at Bennett Coleman & Co (The Times Group), where he held multiple leadership roles, including Director-Times Experiences and Director-South & East. In these roles, he was responsible for driving regional growth, strengthening audience engagement and developing new commercial initiatives.

Notably, Kondur has also previously worked with Kasturi & Sons, the publishing company behind The Hindu, where he served as Vice President-Advertising Sales and headed national advertising sales. His return to the organisation, now in a broader leadership capacity, is seen as a move that combines institutional familiarity with extensive external experience.

Balakrishnan, who has been associated with the media industry for nearly 30 years, has overseen The Hindu’s commercial operations during a period of significant structural change in the media business. 

His career includes leadership roles at organisations such as The Times of India, Initiative Media, HT Media and the Zee Network. Prior to joining The Hindu Group, he served as Chief Executive Officer, South Asia and Middle East, at Kinetic Advertising India, part of the WPP Group.

While confirming his retirement plans, Balakrishnan indicated that he does not intend to step away from professional life entirely, adding that any future engagement is likely to remain aligned with his long-standing experience in the media sector.