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A stronger Radio City with the power of 7

Radio City has made seven new national level appointments

Radio City 91.1FM has announced key changes in its senior management to reinforce its national teams.

Rana Barua, national head, marketing, will now also spearhead national programming at Radio City. Nik Martin will share his expertise as creative consultant, programming. Sagorika Kantharia will lead the HR function nationally as head of human resources at Radio City.

Carl Avari has been brought on board as head of the radio station’s activations cell, Radio City Connect. Ganesh Bhagwat has come in as sales head, Radio City Connect. Subhashis Roy joins national sales as head, key markets, along with Vinita Bhatia, market head, Delhi. Avari, Bhagwat and Roy will report to Ashit Kukian, executive vice-president and national head, sales, Radio City.

Apurva Purohit, chief executive officer, Radio City, says, “Known for our people practices, we invest in our people and these key appointments will go a long way in taking Radio City even further. Bringing on board unmatched competencies, invaluable experience and acumen, these senior officials will contribute in developing robust processes which will help raise the bar for private FM in the years to come. Integrating their rich experience with our in-house talent, we are sure to delight our listeners, providing them an unparalleled radio listening experience.”

Barua assumes responsibility as national programming head along with spearheading national marketing for the radio station. As national head for both programming and marketing, he will supervise the integration of these key functions and work towards taking the product and brand to the next level.

Martin, who is from the UK, will play a critical role in introducing pioneering initiatives for the FM station besides working on its creative mix. The focus of his assignment is to enhance the station’s engagement with the listener through the creation of relevant and compelling content. He has more than 23 years of radio experience, including holding programme management positions at major UK media groups such as Capital Radio and EMAP.

Kantharia, earlier general manager, HR, will now head the HR function for Radio City nationally. With more than 12 years of expertise in human resources, she is currently responsible for all HR responsibility areas such as recruitment, training, compensation and reward, performance measurement, and organisational development for Radio City. Her earlier assignments include working across brands at Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd.

Avari, who is joining as associate vice-president and head of activation and alternate revenue, will spearhead Radio City Connect. With more than 15 years’ experience in marketing and space selling, Avari is in charge of monitoring the responses generated through any activity at the station and garnering benefits in terms of revenues. He will also work towards ensuring ground presence, visibility and creating opportunities at every consumer touch point.

Bhagwat, who joins as sales head, activation and alternate revenue, Radio City Connect, will assist Avari in creating and optimising revenue opportunities for Radio City. A veteran with more than 12 years’ expertise in media sales across print, radio, web and television, Bhagwat was earlier with Live Media, where he was AV-P, media sales, Western India.

Roy joins the national sales team as associate vice-president and head, key markets, sales. These markets include Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Driving the development of new business opportunities in these markets, Roy will lead the teams in developing innovative, compelling and high quality solutions for advertisers. Roy has extensive experience in media, spanning more than 14 years in advertising sales and strategic planning across print, television, radio and digital. His earlier assignments include stints with NDTV Metro Nation, Business Today and Outlook Business.

Bhatia will manage sales for the Delhi market in her new position as market head, Delhi. She will establish the brand through innovative strategies while maintaining active communication channels with advertising agencies and clients in Delhi. With work experience of more than 11 years, spanning media, at companies such as Sony Entertainment, Zee Telefilms and HT Media, she brings valuable expertise to the radio business.

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