Raktim Das at the helm: Celebrating a career built on reinvention

From transforming media businesses to pioneering branded content and digital growth, the Zee Media CEO’s journey spans more than two decades of change in the industry.

As Raktim Das celebrates his birthday today, the occasion offers an opportunity to revisit the journey of a media leader whose career has consistently brought together content, commerce and innovation.

Now Chief Executive Officer of Zee Media Corporation Limited, Das has spent more than two decades navigating—and often anticipating—the shifts that have reshaped Indian media. His professional journey spans print, television, digital, branded content and events, with leadership roles across some of the country’s most prominent media organisations.

A significant chapter of his career unfolded at the India Today Group, where he contributed to the growth of Business Today and helped establish branded content and media intellectual properties as serious business opportunities. At a time when such models were still emerging in India, Das recognised the potential of combining editorial insight, audience engagement and brand objectives.

He was also associated with the launch and development of several international publishing brands in India, including Harvard Business Review South Asia, TIME, Scientific American India and Men’s Health. These assignments gave his career a global dimension while strengthening his understanding of how international media brands could be adapted for Indian audiences.

His association with Zee has been equally consequential. During his tenure at Zee Business between 2008 and 2010, Das played a key role in the channel’s turnaround and rise as a leading player in the business news genre. In a later stint with the group, he headed the Zee Innovation Studio and Custom Content division, creating new formats and brand-led content solutions.

Das also held leadership positions at Network18, NewsX and The Times of India. His entrepreneurial instinct found expression through SMEpost.com, a digital platform created to represent and inform India’s small and medium enterprise community.

At TV9 Network, Das initially led Studio9 and subsequently took charge as Chief Growth Officer for Digital and Broadcasting. His mandate covered growth across television, digital and OTT, alongside branded content, new media properties and monetisation. The role demonstrated his ability to work across platforms at a time when the boundaries between broadcast and digital were rapidly disappearing.

In November 2025, Das returned to Zee as CEO of Zee Media Corporation Limited. The appointment marked both a homecoming and the beginning of his most significant leadership assignment yet. He now leads the organisation as legacy news businesses confront changing consumption habits, artificial intelligence, platform fragmentation and the need for diversified revenue.

His current thinking reflects the same instinct for reinvention that has characterised his career. Das has advocated an omnichannel approach in which television and digital work as parts of one integrated news ecosystem. He has also underlined the importance of combining technology with editorial judgment, arguing that innovation must ultimately strengthen audience trust.

What distinguishes Das’s journey is not merely the number of organisations or roles it encompasses, but his ability to operate at the intersection of editorial strategy and business growth. From magazines and business news to branded content, digital platforms and corporate leadership, he has repeatedly worked on building the next engine of growth.

On his birthday, the industry celebrates a media professional whose career mirrors the evolution of Indian media itself—and whose newest chapter is focused firmly on shaping its future.