Dr Baskar Das: A media visionary, perpetual learner says goodbye

Dr Bhaskar Das, an Indian media and advertising veteran, following a prolonged fight against cancer, breathed his last breath at 72, today. The person who rose from management trainee in 1980 to president and board member during his 32 years at BCCL, will not be available for his signature provocative insights or leadership tips anymore.

With a series of achievements to his credit during his four-decade career span, Das left a permanent mark on India’s media business as it looks today. In his six-year tenure as the BCCL president, Das was responsible for 90% of the company’s revenues. During this term, BCCL’s advertising revenue rose from INR 1,560 crores to INR 4,200 crores.

Nearly 20 years ago, Das conceived and launched Mumbai Mirror—at a time when the city-market was dominated by Mid-Day and several local language newspapers. Within a few years, the daily tabloid became an iconic brand across Mumbai and suburbs. Unshaken by these successes, with his feet firmly planted on the ground, Das would humbly call himself an incidental steward giving full credit for his achievements to team members.

After moving on from BCCL in 2012, Das played many leadership roles in top media organisations. He worked as group CEO at Zee Media Corporation (2012-2017), executive president at DB Corp (2017-2019), and group president and chief strategy officer at Republic TV (2019-2022).

During the last few years, he managed multiple roles in parallel, exhibiting his incessant energy and passion for media business. Some of these concurrent roles included chief evangelist and board member at Silver Star Foundation, Mumbai (from January 2024), president at Content Advisory Group (from April 2023), chairman at IdeateLabs (from July 2022), director at Craving Digital (from June 2022), and CEO of Unica Token (May 2022 to May 2024)!

But was work his only passion? Certainly not.

A perpetual learner and educator, Das completed his doctoral research in media management from Pune University in 2009, followed by another PhD degree from Kolkata’s JIS University on incorporating social listening into integrated marketing communication mix in 2020. His education continued till today. He had been pursuing his third PhD from Gujarat’s GLS University on information consumption and life choices of India’s Gen Z.

Survived by his wife, Shoma, who, confirmed his death. She emotionally describes her husband's life worthy of celebration. Das is no more, but his memories, his business acumen, pithy observations, and a never-ending desire to learn will always inspire his friends and peers—seniors as well as juniors for the years to come.

Bhaskar Das left us today.

In your corporate career of 4 decades you climbed many peaks in media & advertising. More than all the quizzes we created, what I will value most is our friendship. Travel well Bhaskar.
নতুন পথে যাত্রা শুভ হোক বন্ধু। আবার দেখা হবে কোথাও না কোথাও। pic.twitter.com/1RX6OxTz07

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 15, 2025

The Media & Entertainment Industry has lost a valuable gem today…Dr. Bhaskar Das was an inspiration to many, and to me, he was a dear friend, mentor, colleague, a visionary leader and much more! The entire ZEE family mourns his loss. Rest in peace Sir, you will be missed…

— Punit Goenka (@punitgoenka) January 15, 2025

If there’s one person from whom I’ve learnt the most important leadership lessons, it’s Bhaskar. He would rarely call juniors to his room, but instead would walk across to their desks.

Wonderful, moving tribute of
Bhaskar Das by ⁦@18RahulJoshi⁩ https://t.co/K7Tkt8pIe3

— Binoy Prabhakar (@binoy_prabhakar) January 15, 2025