Rajesh Jejurikar quits Zee to rejoin Mahindra

MUMBAI: Rajesh Jejurikar looked liked a senior executive who could not settle down in the media world. For a man who spent nine years at Marico and over eight years at Mahindra & Mahindra, the innings at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) as president was awfully short. Ten months and no media interviews and he rejoins automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra.

Jejurikar had joined Zeel in February this year, getting into a broader role that meant introducing processes and supporting Punit Goenka as the entertainment major was on an expansion drive.

His role involved managing all the key verticals at Zeel, except programming. With his exit now on 31 December, all vertical and department heads of the company will now report into the MD & CEO, Goenka.

Meanwhile, Zee Group has made a high-profile recruitment. Bhaskar Das, who was president at Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd, joined last month as Group CEO with responsibility over digital and news business. Industry outsiders are speculating on him taking an even larger role but Zee has not said anything yet.

Commenting on Jejurikar?s decision to quit, Goenka said, "In a short stint at Zee, Rajesh has brought in newer business perspectives and has contributed to the process immensely, bringing in positive business impact to the organisation. The entire Zee family wishes him all the success in his new endeavours."

Jejurikar added, "The time spent at Zee was extremely fruitful. I am thankful to Zee and Punit for giving me an opportunity to explore and broaden my experience in the media & entertainment space. Zee has all the fundamentals required to become a global media enterprise. As I part ways, and move back to the manufacturing sector, I wish Zee all the success."
 
Jejurikar will join Mahindra as chief executive- Tractor and Farm Mechanisation, with effect from 1 April. In his previous stint at Mahindra, he was chief executive- Automotive Division at Mahindra & Mahindra. He will replace Bishwambhar Mishra, who has moved into a new role at the Mahindra Group, taking over as Director- Mahindra Institute of Quality with effect from 1 April.

Jejurikar will be a member of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group Executive Board (GEB) and will be responsible for the tractor businesses of both the Mahindra and Swaraj brands. In addition, his responsibilities will include MGTL, Applitrac, Construction Equipment businesses and Asset Management (Capital Purchase) for AFS.

Previously Jejurikar was appointed chief executive of the Automotive Division after the formation of AFS in 2010, having joined the organisation as VP - Marketing in the Auto Sector in the year 2000.