MUMBAI: From Zee to V. V as in Viacom18. That’s the route that Utpal Das is taking. Viacom18 Media today announced that the long time Times group and Zee TV professional has joined the company as chief commercial officer effective 1 August.

Utpal will be reporting in to Viacom18 CEO Sudhanshu Vats and will be a part of the Viacom18 leadership team.

Announcing this appointment Vats said, “As a network we are growing exponentially. In our next phase we are committed to strengthening our central functions to build efficiencies and drive synergies. Utpal brings rich and diversified experience to the team and I am confident he will contribute to our growth story. I welcome him to the Viacom18 family and look forward to working with him.”

“I have always been in awe of the Viacom18 network for the strength of the channel portfolio and the way they have set benchmarks for television and film entertainment. Its indeed a privilege to be part of this wonderful team,” commented Das.

Utpal brings to the table more than two decades of experience across several companies in the very diverse business segments ranging from Larsen & Toubro in engineering to Zee Entertainment and BCCL in media. Das is a bachelor of engineering from Regional Engineering College-Silchar and executive masters in international business from IIFT Delhi.