Post a meeting of the board of directors on 1 August, 2011, NDTV has announced a restructuring of its senior management.
KVL Narayan Rao has been elevated to the position of executive vice chairperson. He has been with NDTV since 1998, initially as executive director for eight years, and for the last five years as chief executive officer of the NDTV Group.
Additionally, Vikram Chandra has been appointed chief executive officer of the NDTV Group. Chandra has been with NDTV for 17 years, as a news anchor and later with the additional mandate of chief executive officer of NDTV Networks. In his new role, he will have overall authority and responsibility for all aspects of the company: corporate, operational and channel performance, and will also become a member of the NDTV Board.
Commenting on Rao's elevation, NDTV's executive co-chairpersons, Radhika and Prannoy Roy, said, “Narayan and we believe that this is an opportune time for him to take on a new and even more challenging role in the organisation. We are delighted that he will be joining us in the chairperson group.”
On Chandra's promotion, the duo said, “Along with Narayan Rao, we have been talking about a succession plan for NDTV for a couple of years now. We believe that change is good. It brings in new blood, new ideas, different perspectives and paves way for growth. We believe that the time for change has come. We are delighted at Vikram’s appointment and believe he is the right person to take NDTV to the next level.”