Zee’s Kartik Mahadev to move in a new senior leadership role in Sandeep Mehrotra’s team

Kartik Mahadev has stepped down as Chief Marketing Officer of ZEE and ZEE5 at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), bringing an association of more than seven-and-a-half years with the company to a close. To move in a new senior leadership role in Sandeep Mehrotra’s team as per reliable sources.

Mahadev had been serving as CMO since September 2021. In this role, he led the marketing and growth function across ZEE’s pay television and digital streaming businesses. His responsibilities included driving audience growth, strengthening content discovery and developing consumer-focused propositions across television, ZEE5 and other digital video platforms.

Alongside his CMO mandate, Mahadev also headed digital growth for the ZEE Network, a responsibility he had held since June 2019. His role involved bringing together broadcast and digital marketing strategies as viewing habits increasingly shifted across platforms.

Mahadev joined ZEEL in early 2019 as Head of Marketing and Communications for its English entertainment cluster, comprising Zee Café, &flix and &PriveHD. Within months, he was elevated as Business Head of the English Premium Channel Cluster. He remained in that position until September 2021, when he took over the larger marketing mandate.

During his tenure, Mahadev consistently advocated a platform-agnostic approach to content marketing and audience engagement. Speaking at the e4m Business Leaders Retreat in 2024, he had highlighted the continued reach and relevance of television while underlining the need for broadcasters to evolve alongside changing consumption patterns. He had also shared insights into ZEE’s television and audience strategy.

Before joining ZEEL, Mahadev spent more than two years at Star India. He served as Vice President, Marketing at Star Sports, where he led brand strategy, communication and media planning for the sports network. He was associated with initiatives such as the Khelo India School Games and Khelo India Youth Games. Prior to that, he was Vice President, Channel Marketing, and was involved in the launch of Star Gold SELECT.

Mahadev began his professional journey with Cadbury India in 2005 as a management trainee. Over the following decade, he held several sales, brand and category leadership roles at Cadbury and Mondelēz International. He was also closely involved in the development and launch of Cadbury Bournvita Biscuits in India.