Indian Joint Venture Viacom18 Names Sudhanshu Vats Group CEO

NEW DELHI - Viacom18 Media Private Ltd. has appointed Sudhanshu Vats, 44, as its group CEO.

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Viacom18 is an equal joint venture between Viacom and leading Indian broadcasting and media group Network18. Vats fills the position vacated by outgoing Network18 CEO Haresh Chawla who resigned in November.

Reporting to the Viacom18 board, Vats will be based in Mumbai and will officially join the company in August. He will be responsible for all Viacom18 businesses, which include Hindi entertainment channel Colors, Comedy Central, MTV, VH-1, kids channels Nick and Sonic and film banner Viacom18 Motion Pictures.  

Vats is a veteran in consumer goods marketing having worked at Unilever India for almost two decades with his latest position at the company being that of vp, soaps and detergents.

“Given Sudhanshu’s rich experience, his ability to lead large businesses and his acute understanding of the Indian diaspora, he is well poised to lead Viacom18 into its next phase of growth,” said Network18 Group founder Raghav Bahl.

“With Sudhanshu on board, we’re confident that Viacom18 will continue to redefine the many spaces it operates in,” added Viacom International Media Networks president and CEO Bob Bakish.