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Bharat Kapadia joins Lokmat

Kapadia was earlier chief executive officer and managing editor at Jagran-18 Publications

Bharat Kapadia, chief executive officer and managing director, Jagran-18 Publications, the 50:50 joint venture between Network18 and Jagran Prakashan, has put in his papers. He will join Lokmat, the leading Marathi daily, as a member of its board of directors.

Speaking to afaqs!, Kapadia says, “I will assume my new responsibilities at Lokmat on January 1, 2009. Lokmat being a leading daily in Marathi, the company presents a wonderful opportunity for me to become a part of its growth story.”

Kapadia adds, “Since Jagran-18 Publications' planned Hindi business newspaper has been shelved, there was very little for me to do there – therefore, the move to the new organisation.”

Bharat Kapadia joins Lokmat
For the record, Jagran-18 Publications had announced its plans to come out with a Hindi business newspaper in 2008 and to follow that up with dailies focusing on financial and economic news in other Indian languages.

Before joining Jagran-18 Publications in 2008, he was executive director with the Bhaskar Group. He had joined Divya Bhaskar, the group’s Gujarati daily, as executive director in 2005.

During his tenure with the Bhaskar Group, Kapadia had the opportunity of working on brands such as Dainik Bhaskar, Aha! Zindagi and Saurashtra Samachar. He started his career with the Gujarati magazine, Chitralekha, where he spent 26 years before moving to the Bhaskar Group.

Kapadia is a well-respected name in the Indian print space. He has won the coveted Ad Club Media Innovation Award twice and the Emvies Media Marketer of the Year award in 2001. Mid-Day, the afternoon tabloid, featured him twice as one of the Top 50 Power Points in media.

During his long stint in the industry, Kapadia has held important posts in various organisations, such as chairperson, Project Press Committee of the Indian Newspaper Society; board member and ex-chairperson, Advertising Standards Council of India; and ex-chairperson, Media Research Users' Council.

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