Soumitra Bhattacharyya, CEO, Laqshya Media, moves on

Bhattacharyya takes the decision to retire early from his career

Soumitra Bhattacharyya, chief executive officer, Laqshya Group, has put in his papers and is serving his notice period at the company. Bhattacharyya has served as CEO in the organisation since July 2007.

In his 20-month stint at Laqshya, Bhattacharyya has led and overseen a large number of projects by the company.

While confirming the news of his exit to afaqs!, he clarifies that he is not moving on to another company. Bhattacharyya says, “I’m retiring from a professional career. I have really had a wonderful time throughout.”

Soumitra Bhattacharyya, CEO, Laqshya Media, moves on

He adds, “In all my earlier stints as well as at Laqshya, I have really learnt a lot but most important of all, I have made wonderful friends all along and that is what I shall always cherish. March 31 is the last day of my professional career, and with Laqshya.”

He chose not to share any more information about the reasons for his exit or what he intends to do subsequently, saying that he’d like to discuss it sometime in mid-March.

Indrajit Sen, president, Laqshya Media, says, “We at Laqshya will feel the pressure and as a group, we’ll definitely miss him.”

At the same time, Sen also applauds Bhattacharyya’s decision, saying, “We think it is an extremely courageous decision by Soumitra to retire and do his own thing. He’s actually planning to retire to a home in the hills, do farming and things like that. So many of us would like to quit our jobs and just follow our hearts but how many of us have the courage to do so?”

Prior to Laqshya, Bhattacharyya has worked at MOMS, Madison Communication’s outdoor division, for five years (2002-07), first as chief operating officer and then as chief executive officer.

Over the years, he has worked with FMCG, liquor and online travel companies. He has worked with Nestle as senior sales officer, Shaw Wallace as area manager, Xerox as regional manager and MMT (Metro Media Technologies) as national sales manager, before joining MOMS.

Coincidentally, Chetan Madaya, president, strategy, Laqshya Media also put in his papers last month, soon after the organisation underwent a restructuring of divisions.

Laqshya Media, which started its operations in 1997, owns a portfolio of media assets in the out of home (OOH) advertising space. These include billboards, bus shelters, airport branding (including the new Hyderabad International Airport), digital screens, foot overbridges with escalators in Indore, stainless steel bus shelters in Mumbai, public utilities in Indore and Bhopal, properties at the DLF Citi Center in Gurgaon and railway media properties in Bengaluru, Ludhiana and Amritsar.

It was also one of the first OOH players in India to attract private equity funding, when UTI Ventures invested about Rs 45 crore in the company in 2006.

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