Bengaluru: The Printers Mysore, the family-owned publisher of Deccan Herald and Prajavani newspapers and Sudha and Mayura magazines, announced the appointment of Karthik Balakrishnan as Chief Executive Officer, with a mandate to transform the legacy publisher into a digital-era media group.
Prior to joining The Printers, Karthik, 44, was employed at the Mahindra Group as Vice President – Marketing. K N Tilak Kumar, K N Shanth Kumar and Parul Shah, members of the promoter family and whole-time directors, will continue to mentor and guide the company in its transformation journey.
“We come from a rich legacy of journalism and excellence in English and Kannada newspapers. We have decided to take the company forward into the digital age of news and media, and this is one important step in that direction,” said Tilak Kumar, Joint Managing Director.
“Deccan Herald and Prajavani are two iconic newspaper brands that I grew up with. It is my privilege to be associated with such a well-known and respected company. I look forward to working closely with the Directors and the rest of the TPM team in this exciting journey of transformation and growth,” said Karthik.
Karthik has had deep sales, operations, strategy and marketing experience through his various roles. His strengths lie in strategy formulation, developing high-performing teams, driving business transformation, building brands, delivering digital makeovers – all this with a strong focus on execution excellence.
In his current role, Karthik’s key short-term priorities are building people capabilities and a performance-oriented culture, driving operational efficiencies & cost consciousness, revamping the company’s digital presence, developing a strong customer focus and securing financial results to support future growth. In the longer term, Karthik’s focus is driving robust business growth, securing sustainable sources of long-term competitiveness, developing market-leading brands, creating a a great place to work and making the company a benchmark in the digital media space.
Prior his current role, Karthik spent 8+ years with the Mahindra group in Mumbai. In his last role with the group, he was the custodian of the corporate brand. Prior to joining Mahindra in 2008, Karthik spent 11 years in Sales and Marketing in companies like Monsanto, Lafarge and DaburAyurvedic.
Karthik has a degree in Agricultural Sciences from UAS, Bangalore and a post-graduate diploma in Management from IIM Ahmedabad.
