Zee appoints Shiva Chinnasamy as chief technology and product officer

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has appointed Shiva Chinnasamy as chief technology and product officer with effect from 2 September.

Chinnasamy will be responsible for the efforts being undertaken at Zee’s Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC) in Bengaluru across data, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to enhance the consumer experience across platforms and further support the company’s growth plans across its core business segments, Zee said in a statement.

He will be based at TIC, and will report to Amit Goenka, president, digital business, international linear business, enterprise technology and broadcast operations and engineering.

“As the company moves forward in line with its strategic objectives to drive robust growth, certain action-oriented steps are being implemented to enhance the capabilities of the businesses,” Goenka said in a statement.

Chinnasamy comes with over 20 years of experience across technology, data science and analytics to provide large-scale, long-term solutions in close collaboration with stakeholders and business partners, Zee said.

His expertise spans across ad tech, e-commerce, omni channel retail, B2C fintech, B2B SaaS, platform engineering and mobile engineering. Previously he was associated with Rippling as the India site lead, besides global companies including Google, Tesco, Target, Amazon and Verizon Labs, among others.

After months of court battles over a $90 million (around ₹748.5 crore) termination fee stemming from a failed merger, Sony Pictures Networks India (now Culver Max Entertainment) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd have decided to resolve their disputes amicably through a non-cash settlement, allowing both parties to move on independently.

On 22 January, Sony had terminated the merger cooperation agreement and the composite scheme of arrangement originally signed on 22 December 2021. Sony had sought $90 million in termination fees, filing an appeal with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Zee responded by filing an appeal with the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal, contesting Sony’s decision to call off the merger and disputing the termination fee. Zee also initiated legal action to contest the termination fee. LiveMint