Board of Directors

Mr. Mahendra Mohan Gupta (76 years) is the Chairman and Managing Director of our Company and also holds the position of Editorial Director of Dainik Jagran. He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce. Mr. Gupta has 59 years of experience in the print media industry. Mr. Gupta is responsible for all strategic decisions within the guidelines given by the Board and is responsible for monitoring the Company’s performance periodically. His responsibility also includes formulating corporate strategy, finalisation of business plan in consultation with CEO and CFO, decision on taking new initiatives and representation of the Company in the industry and at various other forums. He is also involved in finalising Editorial Policy and its implementation. As Chairman of the Board, he is responsible for all Board matters.

Mr. Gupta has held various key positions in the industry including being the Chairman of United News of India ("UNI"), President of The Indian Newspaper Society (“INS”), President of Indian Languages Newspaper Association ("ILNA"), Council Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations, Member of Press Council of India and Member of Film Censor Board of India, besides holding senior honorary positions in various social and cultural organizations. Mr. Gupta was a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from April, 2006 to April, 2012 and presently Member of Board of PTI and Member of Executive Committee of INS. His work for the cause of society, Indian trade and industry in general and newspaper industry in particular has been recognized by various social, cultural and professional bodies in India. Mr. Gupta also holds the post of Non-Executive Chairman of Jagran Media Network Investment Private Limited, Rave@Moti Entertainment Private Limited and Jagran18 Publications Limited. He has been a director of our Company since inception.

Mr. Sanjay Gupta (54 years) is a Whole-time Director and also holds the position of Chief Editor of Dainik Jagran and CEO of our Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science. Mr. Gupta has more than 34 years of experience in the print media industry. Mr. Gupta is responsible for implementation of business plan. He is responsible for regular monitoring of the operations, participates in strategy formulation and is involved in expansion plans including M & A and JV opportunities. He represents the Company in various industry bodies and heads the Editorial department and complete editorial team works under his guidance and supervision. Mr. Gupta has recently been appointed as the Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar.

Mr. Gupta is a director of Mid-day Info-media Limited, MMI Online Limited, Naidunia Media Limited and Member of Executive Committee of The Indian Newspaper Society. Mr. Gupta has been a director of our Company since 1993.

Mr. Dhirendra Mohan Gupta (73 years) is a Whole-time Director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in arts. Mr. Gupta has more than 51 years of experience in the print media industry. He is the Director-in-charge of our operations in the western regions of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He is also the Director of Jagran Media Network Investment Private Limited. Mr. Gupta has been a director of our Company since inception.

Mr. Sunil Gupta (54 years) is a Whole-time Director. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in commerce. Mr. Gupta has more than 34 years of experience in the print media industry. He is in-charge of our operations in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Gupta has been a director of our Company since 1993.

Mr. Shailesh Gupta (47 years) is a Whole-time Director of our Company. He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce. Mr. Gupta has more than 27 years of experience in the print media industry. Mr. Gupta participates in strategy formulation and is involved in expansion plans including M&A and JV opportunities. He represents the Company in various industry bodies. Mr. Gupta is Director-in-charge for Mid-day Infomedia Limited and Music Broadcast Limited (Subsidiaries of the Company). He also heads the overall operations of Jagran Engage (OOH advertising division), Jagran Solutions (activation business), Digital business and I-next as well as heads advertisement, marketing and branding activities of the Group.
He was in past the Chairman of Council of Audit Bureau of Circulations and is member of Council of Audit Bureau of Circulations, Member of Executive Committee of The Indian Newspaper Society. Mr. Gupta is also a director of Mid-day Infomedia Limited, MMI Online Limited, , Rave Real Estate Private Limited, Rave@Moti Entertainment Private Limited and Naidunia Media Limited. Mr. Gupta has been a director of our Company since 1994.

Mr. Devendra Mohan Gupta (67 years) is a Non-Executive Director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical). Mr. Gupta has vast experience in handling Product Design, Research & Development, Production, Purchase & Sales (Domestic & Overseas). He is pioneer in introducing D.C. Micro Motors technology in the country and Indian Standard Institution (I.S.I.), took Mr. Gupta on its Panel in the year 1979 for D.C. Micro Motors. Mr. Gupta has helped I.S.I. for formulating the specifications for D.C. Micro Motors & bringing out its first Standard IS: 9670 in the year 1980. He is the Managing Director of Jagmini Micro Knit Private Limited, Director of Jagran Micro Motors Limited and Jagran Media Network Investment Private Limited. He is the recipient of Export award of Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India), New Delhi for the year 1995-96 from Hon’ble Minister of Commerce. Mr. Gupta has been appointed as the Director of our Company in the Annual General Meeting held on September 4, 2008.

Mr. Shailendra Mohan Gupta (66 years) is a Non-Executive Director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science. He has over 38 years of experience in administration, sales and marketing fields in Sugar, Alcohol and Electronics industry. He was Joint Managing Director of Jagran Micro Motors Limited and Managing Director of Shakumbari Sugar & Allied Industries Limited. He is also the Director of The India Thermit Corporation Limited, Jagran Micro Motors Limited, Jagran Media Network Investment Private Limited, Om Multimedia Private Limited, P. C. Renewable Energy Private Limited and Grinns Capital Private Limited. Mr. Shailendra Mohan Gupta has been appointed as the Director of our Company in the Annual General Meeting held on September 4, 2008.

Mr. Satish Chandra Mishra (53 years) is a Whole-time Director of our Company and heads production department. Mr. Mishra received his B.E. (Electronics) in 1983, from Madhav Institute of Technology, Gwalior, P.G. Diploma in Human Resource Management from IMT Ghaziabad, in 2006 and MBA (Major-Marketing Management, Minor-Operations Management) from Punjabi School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, in 2009. He has over 34 years of experience in Newspaper industry. Mr. Mishra joined our Board as a Director of the Company on July 31, 2013.

Mr. Amit Dixit (44 years) is a non-executive Director. He holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School, MS degree in Engineering from Stanford University, and a B. Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai, where he was awarded the Director’s Silver Medal for graduating at the top of his program. Currently, Amit Dixit is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Indian Private Equity for The Blackstone Group. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, he was a Principal at Warburg Pincus. He serves as a Director of Mphasis Limited, IBS Software, Intelnet Global Services, S.H. Kelkar, Trans Maldivian Airways, Jagran Prakashan, Mid-day Infomedia, Hindustan Power Projects, NCC, Jagran Media Network Investment Private Limited and Blackstone Advisors. Mr. Dixit joined our Board on September 28, 2012.

Mr. Anuj Puri (50 years) is an Independent Director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce, is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (New Delhi), Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, UK, Associate of Insurance Institute of Surveyors & Adjusters (India) and an Associate of the Insurance Institute of India. With over 27 years of experience in multi-disciplinary advisory and transactions ranging from real estate to social development projects, he has expertise in undertaking demand assessment studies and transactional services including marketing strategies based on technical real estate market analysis. Mr. Puri has successfully handled marketing of projects within the Office, Retail, Hospitality and Residential domains. His vast expertise also encompasses feasibility studies, program requirement derivation and fund & investor sourcing. Mr. Puri has held various key positions in the industry and is a Member of Task Force on Smart Cities of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), India Chapter at Asia Pacific Real Estate Association, the Confederation of Indian Industry Western Regional Council 2016-17, Advisory Committee of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry-Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (MCHI-CREDAI). He is also Fellow of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Until Feb 2017, Mr. Puri was the Chairman & Country Head of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), one of India’s largest real estate service providers with operations in 11 cities across India and staff strength of over 9000, Mr. Puri recently acquired Jones Lang LaSalle Residential Private Ltd (JLLR) – the residential brokerage arm of JLL and will lead a team of 200 residential brokers across eight Indian cities. Mr. Puri joined our Board on January 31, 2013.

Mr. Dilip Cherian (61 years) is an Independent Director. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degree in Economics and is a Gurukul Chevening Fellow from the London School of Economics. Mr. Cherian is Founder & Consulting Partner of Perfect Relations, South Asia’s leading image management consultancy. He advises CEOs on External Communications, Internal Communications and Public Affairs.

Among Mr Cherian’s other affiliations in recent times he has been the National Chair of the International Public Relations Association. He served on the Governing Board of Advertising Standards Council of India and on the Board of Advisors at Mudra Institute and the Governing Council of the NID. Mr. Cherian has also spent time on the Apex Committee of Shareholder Grievance of the Ministry of Company Affairs.

Mr. Cherian serves on the Boards of a number of companies and social organisations. Mr. Cherian joined our Board on January 31, 2013.

Mr. Rajendra Kumar Jhunjhunwala (71 years) is an Independent Director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce. He has the vast experience of handling Sugar Mill, Vanaspati Plant and Steel Foundry of Motilal Padampat Udyog Private Limited. He has been managing the export business of harness and saddlery products in M/s Moti International Private Limited. In past, he has been the President of Merchant Chamber of U.P., Chairman of the Employers Association of Northern India, Vice President of Indian Vanaspati Producers Association, New Delhi and member of the Steel Furnace Association of India, New Delhi. In addition to this, he has also been associated with many philanthropic Associations. Mr. Jhunjhunwala has been appointed as the Director of our Company in the Annual General Meeting held on September 4, 2008.

Mr. Shashidhar Narain Sinha (59 years) is an Independent Director. He is the CEO IPG Media brands India, manages the second largest media agency group that includes Lodestar UM, Initiative Media, BPN, Reprise, Interactive Avenues, Media brands Rapport & Magna Global in India. He is also the Past Chairman of The Audit Bureau of Circulation. Mr. Sinha also is actively involved in various industry bodies such as the Advertising Standards Council of India, the Advertising Agencies Association of India, The AD club of which he was the past president and chairing the technical committee of the BARC.

He is an alumni of IIT Kanpur & IIM Bangalore where he was conferred the “Most Distinguished Alumni Award”. An industry veteran with over 29 years of experience, where he built a highly awarded team of professionals and organisations that today form the country’s leading media network. Mr. Sinha has been appointed as the Director of our Company in the Annual General Meeting held on September 4, 2008.

Mr. Vijay Tandon (72 years) is an Independent Director. He graduated from the University of Delhi. Mr. Tandon is a Chartered Accountant and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. After qualifying in 1969, Mr. Tandon worked with Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co., a leading firm of Chartered Accountants in New Delhi and was a partner of the firm between 1980 and 1999. As a chartered accountant and financial management consultant, with over 41 years of professional experience in various capacities, Mr. Tandon has been associated with number of private and public sector companies and banks in the capacity of auditor. Mr. Tandon has extensive knowledge of the corporate laws and was heading the Corporate Division of Thakur, Vaidyanath Aiyar & Co. Mr. Tandon has been associated with print media industry in various capacities, as publisher auditor, representing the Audit Bureau of Circulations and as director in Associated Journals Limited (The National Herald Group). Also, as a management consultant, Mr. Tandon has been associated with a number of consulting services in diverse sectors of economy, industry and public utilities funded by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and U K Department of International Development, in India as well as South & Central Asia. Between 2000-2016 Mr. Tandon was Principal Consultant/ Director India with ICF Consulting Services Limited a UK-based development consultant. Mr. Tandon is an advisor on Urban governance and Management and Independent Director/Chairman of Music Broadcast Limited, a Jagran Group subsidiary. Mr. Tandon joined our Board on November 18, 2005.

Ms. Anita Nayyar (55 years) is an Independent Director. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and has done her Post Graduation in Advertising and Marketing with a Masters in Management. Ms. Nayyar has an experience of over 28 years in the industry and was voted second most influential media person in India by The Brand Equity Survey in 2006 and has always been in the top list of the influential media personalities ever since. She has been voted as the Impact top 50 women in Media, Marketing and Advertising and also the top 100 by Campaign Asia in APAC.

Currently, she is CEO India and South Asia for Havas Media Group. She took on the mandate to expand the footprint of Havas Media Group in this lucrative market in 2007. Earlier, she has worked with some leading agencies in India including Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, Initiative Media, Media Com and Starcom Worldwide. Ms. Nayyar joined our Board on September 30, 2014.

Mr. Jayant Davar (55 years) is an Independent Director. He holds degree of Mechanical Engineer and is also an alumni of Harvard Business School. He is the founder, Co-Chairman & Managing Director of Sandhar Technologies Limited. The Company manufactures a diverse range of automotive components. He has been conferred with the distinguished alumnus award by his engineering college. He is the President of Automotive Skills Development Council, Govt. of India, Governing Council Member – Sectoral Committee on Auto & Auto Components, Govt. of Haryana, Executive Committee Trustee- Raman Munjal Vidya Mandir and Founder Trustee of Sandhar Foundation. He is also Past President of ACMA & Past Chairman CII Northern Region and is also a member of Advisory Committee of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Germany, and the Co-Chairman of the Manufacturing Council of CII. He was also a nominated member of the Governing Council VLFM Program, National Committee for Public Policy and Affirmative Action & Trade Fairs. Mr. Davar joined our Board on September 30, 2014.

Mr. Ravi Sardana (51 years) is an Independent Director. He holds a degree of Chartered Accountant and a Chevening Scholar. He has over two decades experience in investment banking and corporate finance and has contributed to more than a hundred successful transactions. He is currently Executive Vice President in ICICI Securities Limited. Mr. Sardana has worked extensively in the media sector advising companies on advisory and fund raising assignments. Mr. Sardana joined our Board on September 30, 2014.

Mr. Vikram Sakhuja (55 years) is an engineer from IIT Delhi, with an MBA from IIM Calcutta. Mr. Sakhuja joined Procter & Gamble in 1988 and held positions in Marketing Research and Media over a period of 8 years. He then joined Coca-Cola where over 5 years he went on to manage the brand marketing portfolio. Mr. Sakhuja spent a year with the Star TV Network (Newscorp) setting up their marketing department as the Executive VP Marketing for India. From 2002 onwards he has been with GroupM. He began his association as the Managing Director of MindShare Fulcrum, went on to become the Managing Director of MindShare South Asia and then he was the CEO of GroupM South Asia for 6 years. Therefore, he took up global role of world wide CEO for Maxus for two years, following which he was GroupM’s Global Strategic Development Officer, with a remit of driving data and technology deeper into the Media practice. In the year 2016, he has partnered with Mr. Sam Balsara to be the Group CEO of Madison Media and OOH.

Mr. Sakhuja served several industry body boards/ committees including ASCI, ABC, RSCI, BARC, AAAI committees with ISA, INS and IBF, and chairs FICCI’s Marketing committees. He has consistently been voted the 2nd most influential person in Indian Media by the Economic Times. He joined our Board as an Independent Director on April 15, 2016.