Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) on Thursday announced a leadership realignment under a refreshed operating model, as it sharpens its focus on becoming a content-first, platform-agnostic and multi-lingual entertainment company.
The reorganisation is aimed at strengthening end-to-end content ownership, accelerating collaboration across its television channels and Sony LIV, and enabling a more integrated approach to monetisation and distribution across linear and digital businesses.
Explaining the rationale behind the move, Managing Director and CEO Gaurav Banerjee said the company is transitioning from a predominantly linear-first mindset to a more integrated linear-and-digital strategy. “By empowering our teams with greater ownership and driving deeper collaboration, we aim to improve agility, execution and customer-centricity while delivering a seamless consumer experience across platforms,” Banerjee said.
Content clusters get end-to-end ownership
Under the new structure, SPNI has reorganised its content operations into focused clusters, each with complete ownership of content strategy, programming, marketing and on-air promotions across both linear and digital platforms.
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Nachiket Pantvaidya will head Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Sony Marathi and Movie Production.
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Ajay Bhalwankar will lead Sony SAB, the Movies cluster, Free-to-Air (FTA) offerings and Infotainment channels.
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Rajaraman Sundaram will drive the company’s regional expansion across southern markets.
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Ambesh Tiwari will oversee Sony AATH along with the Kids portfolio.
SPNI also confirmed that a new head for its Digital business will be appointed once the succession plan is finalised. Until then, Banerjee will directly oversee the digital vertical.
Unified revenue engine under CRO
To support a cohesive monetisation strategy across linear and digital platforms, SPNI is consolidating key revenue streams spanning advertising sales, distribution, sports and international business. This integrated revenue engine will be led by Rajesh Kaul as Chief Revenue Officer.
As part of this transition:
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Akshay Agrawal has been elevated to Head – Linear Ad Sales.
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Makarand Palekar has been elevated to Head – Linear Distribution.
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Ranjana Mangla, who currently leads digital ad sales, will also oversee the company’s YouTube growth strategy.
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Manish Aggarwal will head Sony LIV’s B2B and syndication business.
All four executives will report to Kaul under the new operating model.
Support functions realigned
In support functions, Gaurav Laghate will take charge as Head – Corporate Brand, PR and Corporate Communications, overseeing external relations. Administration and facilities will now be aligned under Human Resources, led by CHRO Manu Wadhwa.
With the leadership reset, SPNI is betting on tighter integration between content, platforms and monetisation to fuel its next phase of growth in an increasingly converged media landscape.
