Subhash Chandra appointed chairman emeritus of ZEE

Subhash Chandra appointed chairman emeritus of ZEE

As Chairman Emeritus, Subhash Chandra will guide the board and the company's senior management and his position will not carry any remuneration

Subhash Chandra will now act as the Chairman Emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises

Subhash Chandra, founder of broadcasting company Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE), has stepped down as the non-executive director of the company with immediate effect. His resignation was accepted by the board of Zee Entertainment on Tuesday. He will now act as the Chairman Emeritus of the company from August 19.

"Subhash Chandra, vide his letter dated August 18, 2020 has tendered his resignation, as the non-executive director of the company, which was reluctantly accepted by the board of directors," Zee Entertainment said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The company further said that the board requested Chandra to act as 'Chairman Emeritus' with effect from August 19, 2020, and the same was accepted by him. As Chairman Emeritus, Chandra will continue to guide the board and the company's senior management and his position will not carry any remuneration.

"In this advisory role, his rich experience and farsightedness will help the company immensely and his services, guidance and mentorship will be availed from time to time," ZEE said.

Earlier in November last year, Subhash Chandra had stepped down as chairman of the company.

ZEE's board has also approved appointment of R Gopalan as the chairman with immediate effect. Gopalan was appointed as an additional director in the category of independent director in November last year.

Gopalan, who has done Master of Public Administration & Management from Harvard University, MA in Economics from Boston University, and Bachelor's in Chemistry from Madras University, has been an IAS officer and has served the commerce and finance ministries.

The board of director of Zee Entertainment Enterprises also approved financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020. The company reported 94.5 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 29.3 crore as against Rs 529.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated operating revenue of Subhash Chandra-led media company tumbled by 34.7 per cent to Rs 1,312 crore as against Rs 2,008.1 crore in the same quarter last year, impacted by sharp fall in advertising revenues due to COVID-19.

Ahead of Q1 results, shares of ZEE Entertainment ended day's trade at Rs 173.95, up 2.38 per cent, against the previous closing price of Rs 169.90 on the BSE.

By Chitranjan Kumar