Sudhir Chaudhary quits as Chief Executive Officer of Zee Media to start his own venture

Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) on July 1 said Sudhir Chaudhary has resigned as chief executive officer (CEO) of the company with effect from July 1, 2022. With this, he ceases to be the Key Managerial Personnel of the company.

The company has also initiated the process for nomination of Abhay Ojha, Chief Business Officer, for the esteemed position vacated by Chaudhary.

Chaudhary addressed his resignation letter to the Chairman of Essel Group, Subhash Chandra, wherein he stated that the resignation comes in view of his "internal deliberations" to begin his "own enterprise." He also sought blessings of Chandra while leaving with a heavy heart. He wrote that if his new venture goes on to be successful, it will make Chandra immensely proud and happy.

Subhash Chandra expressed his views in an internal email stating that he tried to persuade Chaudhary to stay but found him firm on his decision to start his own enterprise on the basis of his huge fan following. Chandra said that he did not want to hamper Chaudhary’s progression in realising his dream and wishes him well. Chandra is also planning to hold a farewell dinner for Chaudhary on July 8 at the Constitution Club.

Chaudhary began his career with Zee News and has had almost three decades of association with Zee Media. He had quit his job at the media house in 2003 to join Sahara, where he played an instrumental role in launching Sahara Samay – a Hindi news channel. He had also worked for India TV for a brief period. He returned to the Zee fold in 2012.

Formerly known as Zee News Ltd, ZMCL is part of media baron Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group and operates one of the largest news networks, with 14 news channels in six different languages.