NEW DELHI: Zee Media Corporation has terminated the services of chief executive officer (CEO) Abhay Ojha effective May 4, 2024.
The fresh termination came after Piyush Choudhary, who served as the chief manager - legal at Zee Media, tendered his resignation last month.
In a regulatory filing, the company said, “...We hereby inform you that the Board of Directors at their meeting held today has approved and confirmed the cessation of employment of Abhay Ojha from the organisation and his consequent cessation as the chief executive officer of the company with effect from May 4, 2024.”
“On account of termination of employment, Ojha has ceased to be the CEO of the company.” While Zee didn’t specify any reason for his termination, the media industry is buzzing about this as part of Zee’s changing stance on news reporting. Ojha’s termination came a year after he was promoted to the position of CEO within the company. He became part of Zee Media in 2022, initially serving as the chief business officer and overseeing the profit and loss of linear channels (exception of WION and Zee Business).
Industry veteran Idris Loya assumed the role of interim CEO. He formerly held the position of group chief technology and innovation officer at Essel Group. Before Zee, Loya was associated with companies such as Sony Electronics (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, Samtek Semicon Devices, New Delhi Liaison Office, Conimp Business Consulting, Navtech / Jwlrai Pte. Ltd.
The fresh changes in Zee Media, which runs 14 news channels in 7 different languages, comes at a time when Essel Group, also known as Zee Group, is trying to fix its finances by clearing debt and setbacks caused by the termination of its merger with Sony.