MxMIndia

Tag: Rajesh Kamat

  • Ajay Nair will continue in his role as Managing Director of the company, focusing on new opportunities for the company

    OML beefs up leadership team

    By A Correspondent

     

    OML has announced the appointment of Gunjan Arya as its Chief Executive Officer, Dhruv Sheth as the Chief Operating Officer and Saurabh Abbi as the Chief Business Officer (New Initiatives and International Business). The newly elevated leadership team — all Managing Partners at OML prior to these appointments — will take on their new roles with immediate effect, leading OML into its next phase of growth and expansion. Ajay Nair will continue in his role as Managing Director of the company, focusing on new opportunities for the company.

     

    Said Rajesh Kamat, MD, Emerald Media, and a board member to OML:

    “OML, as an industry leader, has accomplished massive growth in the past decade. The new leadership team led by Gunjan has a proven success record and I’m sure that they will continue to excel in their new expanded roles at OML to ensure high momentum business growth.”

     

    Added Ajay Nair, MD, OML: “OML has had its best performing couple of years in FY 18 and FY 19 and is poised to grow at over 30 per cent over last year in FY 2020. These three years have been remarkable for the new businesses OML has built and for the multiple new live, branded and content experiences it has executed. This has been largely due to the excellent leadership of Gunjan, Dhruv and Saurabh along with a very talented, experienced and resourceful team and it gives me great pleasure to announce their new roles. I am confident in their abilities to take on these expanded roles and lead such a diverse portfolio in today’s dynamic environment.”

     

    Added Sanjeev Shah, Executive President, Corporate and M&A at Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., one of the investors at OML: “OML continues to remind us of its outstanding ability to build businesses with its “customer n people first” approach. The new leaders are a testimony to its management depth and maturity. Hats off to Ajay for developing the business with such redundancy and future-proofing.”

     

     

  • Paulo Aiello, former CEO of Star TV Asia and former Head of TMT investments at Morgan Stanley Asia and former Viacom18 COO and Colors CEO Rajesh Kamat to co-head Emerald Media

    KKR invests in CA Media, set up Emerald Media to further media investments. Rajesh Kamat to co-lead Emerald

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajesh Kamat

    Global investment major KKR and The Chernin Group, LLC have announced a multi-faceted partnership that includes the creation of Emerald Media, a new enterprise to fund investments in the media and entertainment industries across Asia. KKR has committed up to $300 million to the Emerald Media platform from its KKR Asian Fund II and The Chernin Group will join as a minority co-investor. KKR has also acquired a significant, minority stake in CA Media, the existing Asian media portfolio of The Chernin Group.

     

    Leading industry veterans Rajesh Kamat and Paul Aiello will jointly head Emerald Media and will be joined by an experienced team of operating executives. Emerald Media will have offices in Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Kamat and Aiello will continue to manage the CA Media platform, which includes assets in India (Endemol Shine India, Graphic India, Fluence, and Only Much Louder or what’s better known as OML) and in Indonesia.

     

    Emerald Media will focus primarily on providing growth capital ranging from US$15 million-US$75 million for both control and significant minority positions to media, entertainment, and digital media businesses in Asia, according to a communiqué.

     

    Said Joseph Y Bae, Member of KKR & Managing Partner of KKR Asia: “The growing middle class in the region is using its discretionary income on Internet connectivity, but the industry itself is fragmented. Investing behind proven leaders in industries with high growth potential and partnering with them to grow their business is a cornerstone of KKR’s Asia strategy. We look forward to working with experienced media leaders Rajesh and Paul in this dynamic sector.”

     

    Sanjay Nayar, Member of KKR & CEO of KKR India, added: “The media, entertainment and digital media segment across Asia especially in India enjoys attractive macro fundamentals, mirroring the trajectory of the region’s consumer sector. This is a fragmented industry, and we are excited to work with industry veterans to identify the next generation of media and entertainment companies we can partner with and support.”

     

    Peter Chernin, Chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group noted: “This partnership provides TCG and its fellow investors in CA Media with a unique opportunity to continue to work with a best in class management team and leading global investors at KKR in Asia.”

     

    Added Kamat: “The media and entertainment sector is on the cusp of a strong growth phase—driven by media convergence, an attractive investment environment, and rising discretionary spends. With the building blocks for growth in place, there is a significant opportunity to create a diversified portfolio of assets in this space, building on our accomplishments and ongoing work with CA Media and The Chernin Group,”

     

    Said Paul Aiello: “With the Asia media industry experiencing rapid and transformational changes driven by digitisation and growing internet and mobile penetration, Emerald Media will invest across mediums, demographics, and revenue models to continue driving such transformation.”

     

  • Company Plans To Aggressively Expand Its Launch of Character Entertainment Brands Through New Digital Comics & Animation Platform

    Graphic India gets extra funding from new players

    By A Correspondent

     

    Graphic India announced that it closed a new seed-financing round of $2.8 Million. The new financing round was led by existing investor, CA Media LP, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, LLC (TCG), and NYC based, media investment group, Start Media, founded by Michael Maher. The new round also included prominent angel investors, such as Backflip Studios founders, Julian Farrior and Dale Thoms.

     

    Graphic India produces digital comics and animation to create new character franchises targeting the 550 million Indian youth under the age of 25 and the 850 million person mobile market as they leapfrog directly to smartphones & tablets. In the same way that America created superheroes and Japan created anime, Graphic India is tapping into the creativity of India to launch a new wave of enduring characters and mythic heroes for audiences in India and around the world.

     

    Sharad Devarajan, CEO & Co-Founder of Graphic India commented, “The next Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Stan Lee or Miyazaki exists somewhere in India, ready to change the world through their stories. At Graphic, we will find these breakthrough talents and give them the resources and the digital platform to share their creativity with the world. This new financing will expand our content offering and allow us to create India’s premiere mobile platform for comics and animation – engaging and building a passionate community of superhero, sci-fi and mythology fans through Graphic’s content and characters.”

     

    Over the next few months, Graphic India will unveil a number of digital products and apps in India to build direct engagement with the growing community of passionate comic book and animation fans in the Country. The new digital offering will release hundreds of free digital comics and digital videos in English, Hindi, Tamil and other local Indian languages.

     

    “We have always believed in the immense potential of Graphic India. An amalgamation of talent and creativity, the characters, heroes and stories from Graphic India, tap into the unique ingenuity and culture of India, but appeal to audiences worldwide. With smart phones increasingly becoming the preferred medium of entertainment for the youth and the ever increasing consumer reach of mobiles in India, the move towards expanding their offering and creating content for smart phones & tablets will give them with a significant boost and enthuse the next generation of comic buffs.” commented Rajesh Kamat, COO Chernin Asia Media Group.

     

    Michael Maher, Founder and CEO of Start Media added, “Graphic continues to execute its plan to create globally commercial intellectual property and to use it to overcome barriers to new markets both in India and elsewhere around the globe. We at Start Media are pleased to be a part of Graphic’s continued and rapid growth.”

     

    Since its launch, Graphic locked up licensing deals and content partnerships with Cartoon Network, Rovio, YouTube, Mandalay, Lionsgate and others to license its digital comics and characters into television and film.

     

  • Core to his new responsibilities, Kamat will provide strategic guidance to the group's existing portfolio investments in the region

    Rajesh Kamat elevated at CA Media

    By a correspondent

     

    Rajesh Kamat

    After successfully launching CA Media India, Rajesh Kamat has been elevated to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CA Media, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, LLC (TCG). In his new role, Kamat will relocate to Singapore and report into Paul Aiello, CA Media Group’s Hong Kong-based CEO. Core to his new responsibilities, Kamat will provide strategic guidance to the group’s existing portfolio investments in the region. He will also support Aiello in identifying and managing growth opportunities for CA Media in Asia.

     

    Both directly and through CA Media, TCG has made significant investments in the U.S., Europe and Asia. CA Media will continue to focus on supporting the growth of its existing portfolio of investments, while seeking to expand its position in India and other important emerging markets in Asia.

     

    Kamat will continue to oversee CA Media operations in India while the senior management team – Vivek Raicha and Rishi Negi – will continue to lead their respective domains, as Head of India Investments and Head of India Investee Operations.

     

    “Given what Rajesh has accomplished with CA Media in India, I am confident in his abilities to take on this expanded regional role for CA Media throughout Asia, we look forward to the contributions he will make.” said Paul Aiello, CEO CA Media Group

     

    “Moving from a country role to a region profile is both exciting as well as challenging given the diversity of the key Asian markets and our unique portfolio of assets. I look forward to the challenge ahead,” Kamat said.

     

    Over the last three years, CA Media India has built a strong portfolio of growth investments in the Indian media and entertainment space, including television and film production, live music events, youth media, digital content, intellectual property and graphic novels. In each investment, CA Media has worked with strong on-the-ground partners and local management teams.

     

    CA Media India’s current investments include strategic stakes in Endemol India, Only Much Louder (OML), Graphic India, and a wholly owned online influencer network, FLUENCE.

     

    Kamat will assume his new role and responsibilities in Singapore starting April 2014.

     

  • The idea of getting Ashvini Yardi (who had earned her stars as programming head at Zee) was a great one. But could CEO Rajesh Kamat and she be able to match the maharathis and former Star India CEOs Peter and Sameer?

    Mediaah!: How underdog Colors won the great GEC battle

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Having tracked the journey of both Television 18 and Viacom from their early days (in India in the case of Viacom), there was much desire to see both groups succeed.

     

    But I thought they were being too ambitious to launch a Hindi GEC in 2008. The market was already very crowded and with the whizkids of broadcasting Peter Mukerjea and Sameer Nair also in the fray, the sentiment then was that it was going to be well-nigh impossible for any new channel to be a success.

     

    I was sure the Network 18 team wouldn’t get it right. They had had success with CNN-IBN but entertainment wasn’t like news. Good content doesn’t necessarily maketh a GEC.

     

    The idea of getting Ashvini Yardi (who had earned her stars as programming head at Zee) was a great one. But could CEO Rajesh Kamat and she be able to match the maharathis and former Star India CEOs Peter and Sameer?

     

    I think what changed my outlook to the channel’s launch was the news that Akshay Kumar was signed to do a Fear Factor. The folks meant business and Akshay was then the reigning king of Bollywood. Plus the team was young, friendlier (than the others) and indulged us in the media.

     

    A week before the launch, most of us had wanted Colors to succeed. Even advertisers and media agencies longed for a worthy alternative to the existing slew of channels. And after the ratings for the first two weeks came in, we were sure the channel was a winner.

     

    Even then there were naysayers telling us that the magic would fade away. Regrettably for them, it didn’t. Soon Colors dethroned Star Plus as the numero uno Hindi GEC.

     

    I remember writing then that it was complacency that had seen Star Plus go down, a comment that didn’t work very well with some people internally and of course the biggies in the business. But a year-odd later, when I spoke to Star India CEO Uday Shankar, he admitted that the channel getting complacent. I asked him just to let people know that my earlier statement was based on some digging in, and not speculation.

     

    **

     

    My first major interaction with Rajesh Kamat happened only when I had this interview on the first anniversary of the channel in Impact magazine. It was an extra-long 6000-word interview. Rajesh had then told me how it helped being an underdog. “It made us focus on our own efforts. Also what happens is when you’ re an underdog, you push yourself to give 200%.” He mentioned how he learnt several tricks of the trade from Sameer Nair, and knowing that the former Star India CEO would’ve tracked the rise and rise of the channels, we invited him to do an appraisal for this fifth anniv package.  The Impact interview isn’t on the Net, but I found a Word version on my Gmail archives. Inbox me if you want a copy.

     

    ***

     

    In many ways, the launch of Colors also marks a little over five years I have spent in the M&E media. I can’t claim the same kind of success that the channel has achieved, but, yes, the ability and desire to try and do stuff that has not been done before is there.

     

    Here’s to many, many more colourful years for Raj Nayak and Team Colors (and the folks at Network/TV 18, Viacom and Viacom 18)!