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Churn at Times Internet as Vinay Kumar, Sharat Dhall quit
Three top managers have recently left the company, which says this is but the beginning of yet another restructuring
The people churn at Times Internet Ltd (TIL) continues as three top managers have recently put in their papers. Vinay Kumar, director of corporate strategy, is serving out his notice period. Two other departures have taken place recently at the company: Sharat Dhall, director of e-commerce, and Sumit Jain, head of technology and head of e-mail.
When contacted, Kumar (who had earlier spent nine years at Microsoft’s Seattle headquarters, leading the MSN wireless business) refused to comment on his resignation. Dhall and Jain could not be contacted, but sources say Dhall has already left the company. The future destination of all three key managers is not known.
Confirming the departures, a TIL company spokesperson said it is most likely that there will be no appointments to replace Kumar and Jain. Dhall’s replacement has not been appointed yet.
However, the spokesperson at TIL insisted that this was only the beginning of another restructuring at the company, adding, “During the course of (our) journey, a few of the key players of TIL decided to move on for a diverse set of reasons – some to become entrepreneurs, others to seek greener pastures. We realise that our doors will be always revolving and we appreciate their individual contribution and wish them the very best in all their endeavours.”
As part of the restructuring, TIL has made some key appointments, mostly over the past three months. S Muthukannan has been appointed technology head, joining from Fugensoft US. Sanjay Sindhwani, who returned to Times Internet after a year’s stint at TV18, has been appointed vice-president, corporate. Darpan Munjal has joined as chief technology officer, e-commerce. Arindam Sengupta, who comes from JWT, has been appointed general manager, marketing.
TIL has also made appointments in its various verticals. Sameer Soni, who moved inter-group from Radio Mirchi, has been appointed vice-president and business head, Indiatimes Movies. Amarinder S Dhaliwal, who has also moved inter-group from the publication business, has been appointed vice president, e-commerce, auto. In the travel vertical, Vinod Kumar Singh has been appointed technology head.
The company is re-launching its mobile business, according to sources, and Ajay Vaishnavi has been appointed director of telecom. He was earlier with CellNext Solutions.
TIL is the media venture of The Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd. Indiatimes.com is the flagship brand of TIL, and the third largest portal in India with 400 million page views per month. The company also runs websites for Times of India, The Economic Times, Filmfare and Femina.
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