Impact Person of the Year 2006: The countdown continues

By the evening of February 8, we will know who the Impact Person of the Year 2006 is. Until such time, let’s ponder over the brief profiles of some of the nominees. Today we look at snapshots of the careers and focus on the year gone by in the lives of Kalanithi Maran, AP Parigi, Piyush Pandey, Raghav Behl, Rajdeep Sardesai and Sandeep Goyal.

Kalanithi Maran

After crafting an incredible supremacy story in the South, Chennai-based Sun Network is looking towards North. And at its helm is the man whose dream has today created a seemingly impregnable wall close to the Vindhyas.

After a successful IPO and several successful years, the Sun rose up North with the FM venture. Early days yet, but the track record of the network and its forays suggests that they should not be taken slightly. Forty-five stations is what the network will have, but that’s only on the radio front.

Entering the print domain with ‘Dinakaran’, and after shaping weekly ‘Kungumam’s readership success, the stage is set for DTH. Though himself inaccessible to many, Maran ensures that his channels are not. And there will be more of them.

Admittedly, he does not believe in several long strides at once. But every step of the way has spelt success.

A P Parigi

As Managing Director and CEO of ENIL, Parigi’s role and responsibilities include spearheading the Times Group’s foray into FM radio broadcasting, event management, out-of -home advertising and film entertainment. Parigi manages a spectrum of businesses and brands like Radio Mirchi, 360 Degrees and Times OOH Media.

Under his leadership, ENIL was established as a leading FM radio company in India and became the first and only listed FM radio company in this country. Parigi also played a key role in initiating and managing the much desired regulatory and policy changes in the sector, which resulted in a complete turnaround for the FM radio industry in India.

Parigi is also the Managing Director and CEO of Times Infotainment Media Ltd. In the last three decades, he has held senior positions in various industries, including telecom, financial services and mining. Prior to joining the Times Group, Parigi was CEO of BPL Mobile, Mumbai. He is a member of CII’s National Media Committee and holds the Chair for the Radio Sub-Committee for FICCI. Parigi was also one of the Chairpersons at the World GSM Congress 2000, Cannes, France. He has held the Chair of various sub-committees of CII, including industrial policy, finance and taxation. He is a past member of the National Committee on Telecommunications, CII.

Though he doesn’t come across as ‘hot, the business ventures he heads are.

Piyush Pandey

Piyush Pandey’s career at Ogilvy, from a Trainee Account Executive to the Executive Chairman is a story of excitement and achievement, accolades and applause.

Born in Jaipur, Pandey obtained his Master’s Degree from St Stephen’s College, Delhi. Cricket seemed to be his calling as he led Delhi University to a win in the Rohinton Baria Trophy in 1979. He also played in Ranji Trophy. Pandey even worked as a tea taster, before joining Ogilvy in 1982.

Pandey’s creative leadership is well respected both in India and abroad. His work has won him numerous national and international awards and laurels, including being the first ever Asian to serve as the President of the Cannes Jury.

He brings another creative voice to the board at Ogilvy. He adds to the tremendous wealth of wisdom and experience for the organisation, and O&M India has grown from strength to strength under his creative leadership and visionary direction. The title of most influential man in advertising in India, according to survey after survey, is something that sticks with him, year after year.

The power of soulful creative expression and a passion for the communication business: Piyush Pandey.

Raghav Bahl

Raghav Bahl is the Managing Director of the TV18 Group. He began his working life as a management consultant with A F Ferguson & Co. His second corporate job was with the American Express Bank – before he turned to his first love, media. Winner of the Sanskriti Award for Journalism in 1994, Bahl has over 22 years’ experience in television and journalism. He started his career in the media in 1985 as a Correspondent and Anchorperson for Doordarshan. He was the also the Anchorperson and Production Consultant for India’s first monthly video newsmagazine, ‘Newstrack’, produced by the India Today group. From 1991 to 1993, he was the Executive Director of Business India Television and produced the Business India Show and Business A.M. on Doordarshan. Bahl is also a member of World Economic Forum (WEF).

Television Eighteen (TV18) is today a leading news and information network, operating in the television and internet space. TV18 broadcasts four round-the-clock news channels and deploys content across multiple platforms like television, Internet, mobile and voice. The group employs more than 2,500 media professionals across the country and is one of the few listed companies in the Indian media business. Its robust infrastructure includes 23 national bureaus and two state-of-the-art broadcast centres in Delhi and Mumbai.

Working to become the future of content: Raghav Behl

Rajdeep Sardesai

Rajdeep Sardesai is a political commentator and TV personality par excellence. A familiar face in most Indian households that own a television set, today he is also living proof that content is the bread.

Sardesai was a host of the award-winning talk show ‘The Big Fight’ on NDTV 24x7, and was particularly appreciated for his coverage of the Gujarat riots. He later quit NDTV to start his own company, Global Broadcast Network (GBN) in collaboration with CNN and Raghav Bahl’s TV18. Sardesai is now the Editor-in-chief of CNN-IBN. Channel 7 has also come under the GBN umbrella after Sardesai’s company bought a 46 per cent stake in the channel. Channel 7 has since been renamed IBN7.

He worked for The Times of India, Mumbai, between 1988 and 1994 as City Editor and Head, News Service. He moved to television journalism in 1994 as Political Editor, NDTV. Sardesai also writes columns for leading English dailies.

When he speaks, India listens. When he questions, India answers: Rajdeep Sardesai.

Sandeep Goyal

The more you write about this advertising sensation, the less it seems has been written. From a small town boy to being a stakeholder in an international advertising agency, the life of Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Dentsu Communications and Dentsu Marcom, has truly been exciting and adventurous. Armed with his diverse experience, Goyal decided to pen down his experience in the ‘Dum Dum Bullet’, set against the backdrop of a changing world of advertising.

Dentsu India has rocked the advertising status quo with not one but two agencies to start with, and more divisions and specialists to complete the umbrella. The series of announcements that can only come from a challenger brand culminated with a non-announcement that made an impact on the front pages of most financial dailies, and covers of the trade publications. It had to do with the World Cup, and it had to create a furore. Armed with the power and finesse of giants Dentsu, this entrepreneur has come to be a challenger to the powers that are. It was only a matter of time, say pundits; and then there are others who are writing his obituary. In the mean time, he is writing his next book.

Love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him. He makes an impact: Sandeep Goyal.

Also see:

Impact Person of the Year 2006: The countdown begins

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