MUMBAI:The Times Group's non-fiction entertainment and lifestyle channel Zoom has roped in a former Channel [V] programming professional Suresh Bala as its new chief operating officer.

With Suresh Bala coming in, the outgoing COO Upen Roop Rai has moved on to head Integrated Marketing Solutions Group (IMSG) and Indiatimes as the director, informs an official release.
Bala will report to Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd's executive president Arun Arora. He is expected to take over his responsibilities within a week or two.

Prior to this, for the past three years, Bala was in Canada, and before that he was in the programming function of Channel [V].

Interestingly, Rai came from Times Group's internet division where he was the marketing head. His last day as Zoom COO would be 1 June.

While, overseeing Zoom, Rai continued to handle Indiatimes.com in Delhi. He was completely responsible for revenue, marketing and sales. Integrated Marketing Solutions is also something he was handling.

Under Rai's guidance, Zoom has added various franchisees to mark its positioning of an Indian lifestyle channel. Commenting on his move to IMSG and Indiatimes, Rai said, "The experience at Zoom has been a great one. I was sent here for a year and it has been a great year. I am already looking forward to my focus responsibilities at IMSG and Indiatimes."