<p>After being appointed the Group CEO of Viacom18, a joint venture between Network18 and Viacom, Sudhanshu Vats has a challenging mandate. From August, the former HUL veteran, will be reporting to the Viacom18 board and will be responsible for growth of all its businesses, namely Colors, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon , Sonic, Vh1 and Viacom18 Motion Pictures in the country.
Compared to its peers, Viacom18 quickly earned its place as a media company to watch out for. All its brands were leaders in their spaces but the last few months have been tougher on the company.
Vats appointment comes at a time, when the company is undergoing several changes, including expansion in regional markets, after the takeover of Eenadu and the Reliance Industries investment in Network 18. It has also launched a JV on the distribution front .
Vats, currently vice-president, laundry, South Asia and global brand Radiant (Rin in India) has about 21 years of experience, of which 19 have been with Hindustan Unilever across sales, customer development, marketing and general management. Before HUL, Vats was with Castrol for about two years, where he led the marketing function and was instrumental in the Castrol master brand re-launch. He holds a B Tech degree and a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
