Bhaskar appoints Ashu Phakey as COO for Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh

Phakey comes from Subhiksha Trading Services, where he was the president, Delhi & NCR

Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar has appointed Ashu Phakey as the COO for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The position was lying vacant since the daily entered the market.

Phakey has come from Subhiksha Trading Services, where he was the president, Delhi & NCR, since October 2005. He joined Subhiksha at a time when the company was spreading its wings out of Tamil Nadu.

At Bhaskar, Phakey would be responsible to “establish the Bhaskar brand as a leading media group in the region, across verticals – circulation, ad sales and the complete package.”

“My role would be to bring innovation in the product from all perspectives and maintain its dominance. Also, I'd be taking up many societal issues, for the brand to be known as a socially responsible company,” says Phakey to afaqs!.

Phakey will be based out of Chandigarh and will report to Sudhir Agrawal, managing director, Dainik Bhaskar, who is based out of Bhopal.

Phakey has more than 16 years of experience in sales and marketing. Prior to Subhiksha, he has worked with FMCG companies, such as ConAgra Foods, Nestlé, Frito Lay India and Wimco.

Rajiv Jaitly, president, ad sales and marketing, says in an official release, “Phakey's cross-industry experience demonstrates his great understanding of the process and his ability to innovatively grow our business. Utilizing his expertise to direct our sales in the region, we are looking forward to developing quality sales and distribution strategies under his leadership in the most efficient ways.”

Phakey has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Punjab University.

Dainik Bhaskar entered Chandigarh and Haryana in 2001. It has one edition in Chandigarh and four editions -- Faridabad, Ambala, Hissar and Panipat -- in Haryana. It entered Punjab in 2006 with Amritsar and Jalandhar editions. Subsequently, it launched Ludhiana and Patiala editions in 2007.