It was a homecoming of sorts for Ajit Thakur as he reminisced about his life to a jam-packed room of enthusiastic IIM Lucknow students at his alma mater- Indian Institute of Management Lucknow. His talk primarily concentrated on different career opportunities in media sector. Mr Thakur took excerpts from his own career to educate the students on likely path to be adopted should they dream of a career in media, and surely there were many dreamers.
Mr Thakur is the current business head of Sony Television responsible for a whole gamut of media business activities inclusive of programme creation, content research and commercial handling. His tenure in Sony was preceded by very successful stints at Balaji Motion Pictures and UTV Motion Picture. Prior to venturing into Media sector Mr Thakur gained considerable marketing and sales experience handling key brands such as Coca Cola and Unilever , which in his words “equipped him to tackle the rigours of any kinds of marketing job”. Mr Thakur’s experience across different sectors helped the students get a holistic picture of “Marketing and Sales”, as he narrated his life’s journey from IIM to his present vocation.
The session gave students a flavour of various media sectors and the different growth potential present across them. Upon asking his preference for a sector Mr Thakur quipped “Movie making is much more innovative and creatively satisfying but it is television where you hone your business skills”. He expressed his enthusiasm about the new media segment saying that the advent of new technology will revolutionize the entertainment sector by expanding its reach like never before. Mr Thakur was optimistic about radio industry and urged students to work in this niche sector by saying "It (working in radio sector) is one of the fastest ways to become a General Manager”.
The talk was organised as a part of Colloquy – The Talk Series by the Industry Interaction Cell IIM Lucknow. This talk was in continuation of Industry Interaction cell’s endeavours to expose students to a variety of exciting job opportunities through interaction with the best in the global industry. Some of the big names who’ve been associated with the talk series are Mr Tarun Tripathi (Former Marketing Head Yash Raj Films), Ms Latika Khaneja (Collage sports management) and Mr R Balakrishnan aka R Balki of Cheeni Kum and Paa fame. The session was received very cordially by the students who had a good time talking to a fellow alumnus and a marketing mogul in all rights.
Mr Thakur is the current business head of Sony Television responsible for a whole gamut of media business activities inclusive of programme creation, content research and commercial handling. His tenure in Sony was preceded by very successful stints at Balaji Motion Pictures and UTV Motion Picture. Prior to venturing into Media sector Mr Thakur gained considerable marketing and sales experience handling key brands such as Coca Cola and Unilever , which in his words “equipped him to tackle the rigours of any kinds of marketing job”. Mr Thakur’s experience across different sectors helped the students get a holistic picture of “Marketing and Sales”, as he narrated his life’s journey from IIM to his present vocation.
The session gave students a flavour of various media sectors and the different growth potential present across them. Upon asking his preference for a sector Mr Thakur quipped “Movie making is much more innovative and creatively satisfying but it is television where you hone your business skills”. He expressed his enthusiasm about the new media segment saying that the advent of new technology will revolutionize the entertainment sector by expanding its reach like never before. Mr Thakur was optimistic about radio industry and urged students to work in this niche sector by saying "It (working in radio sector) is one of the fastest ways to become a General Manager”.
The talk was organised as a part of Colloquy – The Talk Series by the Industry Interaction Cell IIM Lucknow. This talk was in continuation of Industry Interaction cell’s endeavours to expose students to a variety of exciting job opportunities through interaction with the best in the global industry. Some of the big names who’ve been associated with the talk series are Mr Tarun Tripathi (Former Marketing Head Yash Raj Films), Ms Latika Khaneja (Collage sports management) and Mr R Balakrishnan aka R Balki of Cheeni Kum and Paa fame. The session was received very cordially by the students who had a good time talking to a fellow alumnus and a marketing mogul in all rights.