Hires & Promotions: Zee, Amazon Prime, Paytm, SLN Coffee

Zee News' Abhay Ojha departs, Dr. Idris Loya takes charge

Abhay Ojha, who served as the chief revenue officer at Zee Media Corporation, has departed from the company with immediate effect.

The company notified all its leaders via email about Ojha's departure, effective as of May 4 afternoon. Dr. Idris Loya will be stepping into Ojha's role.

Ojha initially joined Zee Media as the chief business officer and P&L head of linear channels, excluding WION and Zee Business, in 2022. Later, in 2023, he was promoted to the position of CEO.

Before his tenure at ZMCL, Ojha held positions at various prominent companies including Star TV, Shop CJ, ZEEL, IndusInd Media, Turner, and HUL. His extensive experience encompasses broadcast, digital transformation, short video applications, social commerce, digital distribution, FMCG, and Home Shopping. Considering his vast expertise and successful track record, the Board nominated Ojha for the CEO role.

Dr. Idris Loya, who assumes Ojha's former position, previously served as the group chief technology innovation officer at Essel Group. He brings over three decades of experience, specialising in innovation adoption and technology commercialisation, with prior engagements at Navtech, Jwlrai, Sony Singapore, Samsung Semiconductor, and NIT Raipur.

Aparna Purohit quits Amazon Prime Video

Aparna Purohit, head of India and SEA Originals, Amazon Prime Video, has stepped down, according to sources close to the development. Prime Video is yet to confirm the news.

Purohit has been associated with Prime Video for over eight years. She joined the OTT platform as the head of creative development in January 2016 and became the head of India Originals in April 2019.

In a career spanning over 17 years, she has worked with Cinestaan Film Company, Mumbai Mantra Media, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), BIG Pictures and UTV Motion Pictures.

Paytm's president and COO Bhavesh Gupta steps down

It has been reported that Bhavesh Gupta, the president and COO of One97 Communications' fintech company, Paytm, has resigned from his role, stating personal reasons.

Gupta's departure, which will take effect on May 31, 2024, is stated in Paytm's stock exchange filing. Following May 31 or after his resignation is accepted, he will continue to serve as an advisor in the CEO's office.

After beginning his career with Apple Finance, Gupta worked for ICICI Bank, IDFC Bank, and Transamerica Apple Distribution Finance.

As the general manager and head - business banking at ICICI Bank, he was responsible for pan India product and business management of current accounts new acquisiton and existing book, transaction banking of current accounts, international trade business for MSME customers, business lending solutions like cash credit, overdraft, LC, Bank Guarantees etc for MSME customers and retail forex solutions.

Unilever's Sahib Singh joins SLN Coffee as CEO

Sahib Singh, who led Unilever as a national account manager, has joined SLN Coffee as chief executive officer. In his previous role, Singh was responsible for account management and business delivery for more than 30 Modern trade customers including More retail, Vishal Mega Mart, Star Bazaar and Spencer's retail.

Singh started his career at Unilever as a business leadership trainee and held various roles in different capacities. As the head of e-commerce, Singh was responsible for setting the eCommerce channel for Unilever Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. He also worked on digital Route to Market solution for Unilever Russia.