AROI names Apurva Purohit president

The Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI) has elected Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City 91.1 FM, president. Rajiv Mishra, founder and president of AROI, resigned a few months ago.

The senior vice-presidents elected to the panel are Prashant Pandey, CEO, Radio Mirchi; Rahul Gupta, director, Radio Mantra; and Tarun Katial, COO, Big FM. The fourth vice-president, though not named, is expected to be a senior official from Sun TV.

“We have conducted a very cooperative election and arrived at a consensual conclusion. We are happy with its results,” says AROI general secretary Uday Chawla.

AROI intends to forge a joint body along with advertisers. “We want AROI to be like the INS of the radio industry,” says Purohit. Her opinion was endorsed by Chawla. As a strong radio operator body, AROI will also interact with other related industries. It will act as a platform and voice for the radio industry as a whole.

An alumnus of IIM Bangalore, Purohit has spent more than 18 years in advertising and media. Before foraying into radio, Purohit was part of the television space, where she worked with BCCL and Zee Telefilms. She was responsible for the re-launch of Zee TV, with shows like ‘Astitva’ and ‘Piya Ka Ghar’. Prior to her four-year stint in television, Purohit worked for 12 years with Rediffusion DY&R and FCB-Ulka.

She is joint secretary of the Mumbai Ad Club and chairperson of the Emvies, the prestigious media awards conducted by the Ad Club.

AROI was set up in 2006 with Rajiv Mishra as its president. It is a national society with almost all the big players in the radio industry as its members.