Bangalore: Chinta Shyamsundar, the CEO and Executive Director of Asianet New Network has decided to move on from the company after a six-year stint with the network to peruse the business options in the most happening e-commerce sector.
Shyamsundar, with over 25 years of experience, had created huge value for the media assets of Asianet News Network during his six-year association and spearheaded the company’s objective in developing focus and credibility of the brand coupled with sustained growth.
He will now put his expertise into the e-commerce business that will focus on apparel and gifting vertical. He will also venture into business consulting and setting up media assets.
Speaking on the development Shyamsundar said, “It has been a very fulfilling experience with Asianet News Network and I will take with me fond memories of building this brand. With every end there is a new beginning and the same way I am about to venture into e-commerce that I have been very passionate about. In the current scenario, the international live music business has gained tremendous traction and I am looking at entering that segment as well.”
“Asianet is a great company. I’ve handled both the print and electronic media and also the radio business (FM 91.9). Besides this, I have also handled the English space, where we successfully organised the Indigo (music) events. There were a lot of challenges when I took control from the Express group. As far as print media is concerned, I played a crucial role in the revamping of Kannada Prabha. I set up the distribution, sales, and complete revamping of the product, thereby increasing our circulation.” added Shyamsundar
While he refused to divulge much information about his new venture, Shyamsundar did reveal that it would be in the gifting space. He added, “Due to marketing reasons, I can’t reveal the name of the e-commerce portal, but what I can tell you is that we’ll be launching on 22nd October. We will create hype in the pre-launch phase. We’re keen to tap the gifting space, which I firmly believe is still a virgin market in India. We’ll be spending Rs 4-5 crore on marketing. Besides, I’m going to develop an apparel product called ‘Attitude’.”
He further said, “I’ll also be consulting for media asset development. I’ll be aiding one investor who is going to set up his a religious channel Saral Jeevan in Karnataka, a first of its kind in India. The channel is likely to be launched in early November.”
Talking about the music events business, Shyamsundar said, “Every year, we are looking at organising 3-4 events in the English space on a big scale in India. We are keen on bringing international stars here. I can’t reveal the names, but the first big event is likely to take place on October 11 or it could be pushed to December, depending on the star’s availability.”
Shyamsundar has been the CFO and COO of Jupiter Media and Entertainment prior to becoming the Executive Director and CEO at Asianet News Network.
