Ashish Sehgal is set to join Times Network as Chief Executive Officer, with his appointment expected to take effect in December 2026, according to media reports. He will also take on an expanded mandate as Chief Growth Officer for the media and entertainment businesses under Vineet Jain’s portfolio at the Times Group.
The development comes at a pivotal phase for Times Network, which has been navigating leadership churn, operational uncertainty and constrained investments over the past year and a half.
In August 2025, Chief Operating Officer Varun Kohli stepped down after a 13-month stint. Following his exit, Rohit Gopakumar — who joined the Times Group in 2023 as CEO of Worldwide Media and later helmed the Entertainment and Digital Business — was given interim charge of the network. Sehgal’s entry is expected to bring clarity to the leadership structure and allow Gopakumar to return to his core responsibilities.
Kohli’s departure came a year after former Times Network CEO M.K. Anand resigned in July 2024, closing a decade-long tenure at Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL). Industry observers view Sehgal’s appointment as a strategic move to stabilise the network and re-energise its next phase of transformation.
Known for his strategic clarity, scale-driven execution and deep industry experience, Sehgal is widely seen as a major leadership acquisition for Times Network. He is expected to work closely with Vineet Jain and N. Subramanian to rebuild the leadership bench, accelerate growth planning and draw renewed confidence from partners, advertisers and talent.
Track Record of Growth at Zee Entertainment
Until November 2025, Sehgal served as Chief Growth Officer – Broadcast & Digital at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), where he drove top-line performance across all TV channels, digital assets like Zee5, and the network’s special IPs.
With over three decades in media and entertainment, Sehgal has led multiple industry-first initiatives and played a central role in transforming ZEEL’s revenue architecture through a unified, platform-agnostic approach.
He also spearheaded the expansion of the ILT20 Cricket League as Business Head, and earlier, as COO of Zee Unimedia, delivered strong revenue growth for ZEEL and ZMCL between 2015 and 2020 — widely regarded as one of the most robust phases for both entities.
Before joining ZEEL, Sehgal worked with Star India, where he led national sales for Star Gold after initially heading North India sales for the channel. He began his career with Univista TV and Times FM.
Sehgal’s impending move to Times Network has generated significant anticipation across the industry, with expectations of a renewed strategic direction for the broadcaster.
Repeated calls and messages to Ashish Sehgal went unanswered at the time of publication.
