Varun Kohli: Leading with purpose, delivering with impact & reinventing with empathy

Today, Varun Kohli marks another year around the sun. Kohli is a business leader whose career spans nearly three decades of impact across industries. From building brands to steering turnarounds, he has consistently demonstrated what it means to lead with vision, discipline, and action.

Currently serving as COO- News Broadcast Business, Times Television Network, Varun Kohli has led organizations through high-stake transitions, revitalizing operations and unlocking new market potential. His earlier roles as CEO, COO, and Chief Monetisation Officer in large media organisations have seen him take full ownership of performance, culture, and strategic direction, always with a clear focus on results.

A graduate from the University of Delhi, Varun combines academic grounding with hard-won industry insight. His leadership at Bennett Coleman, TV18, iTV Network, HT, Bharat Express, Deccan Chronicle and other high-impact media ventures reflects a deep understanding of both brand positioning and business fundamentals.

What sets Varun apart is his hands-on approach. He doesn’t just oversee, he builds, fixes, and grows. Whether leading sales transformations, launching new language platforms, or engineering digital growth strategies, he is known for tackling underperformance head-on.

Described by peers as a “finisher” and a “doer,” Varun’s ability to drive operational change, align teams, and deliver results has earned him recognition and trust across the corporate spectrum.

Varun Kohli joined Times Network as COO for News Broadcasting Business almost 11 months back on 26th June 2024. Varun reports into the Managing Director’s Office while working closely with N Subramanian, Executive Director and Group CEO, Non Publishing Business, Times Group.

A seasoned media professional with around three decades of leadership experience, Varun has had a distinguished and a long media career. Varun brings in rich experience in P&L and Operations Management of Broadcasting Business to Times Network.

Having launched several successful media brands and turning several others into profitable ventures, he is popularly known as the “Turnaround Man”. He is known to be a people’s manager and works on getting the best out of everyone working with him.

Apart from media, Varun has also straddled sports management in leadership roles. He was instrumental in launching and organizing several successful seasons of Pro Wrestling League and Big Bout Boxing League for his previous employer, iTV Network. Varun has a solution-based approach and diverse background across legacy brands, challenger brands and start-ups.

Varun has also been credited with transforming several companies by designing a strategic roadmap and detailed benchmarking. His past organizations include iTV Network, where he, as the Group CEO, successfully led 10 channels along with two publications and digital ventures of the company for over 8 years. He has also worked with Network 18, HT Media Ltd, Amar Ujala Prakashan and other top media houses in senior leadership roles in the past. His last assignment was as Director & CEO of Bharat Express.

Varun Kohli is known to be a people’s person—highly ethical, industrious, and focused on his organizational priorities.

Varun is heading news broadcasting network at a time when the business model of the news broadcasting domain is under structural pressure, and with his sincerity and understanding of media business and focus on revenue and profitability, Varun Kohli is adding value as a leader. 

Varun lives in Noida with his wife Mrs Ekta Wahi Kohli and has a daughter who is a postgraduate in law from USA and now working in the USA. He also has a son who is an undergraduate student at Bennett Coleman University.