PUNIT GOENKA UNVEILS 5G SALVO FOR ZEE 4.0

Punit Goenka, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, shared his strategic vision for a new version of the company – calling it ZEE 4.0 – through an open letter sent to the media on Friday evening.

The company will adopt a five-pronged philosophy, that Goenka outlined as the 5Gs – Governance, Granularity, Growth, Goodwill and Gusto. “These 5Gs will define the future of this great company and along with my team of professional leaders, I stand committed to regain our place of pride,” Goenka declared.

“The start of this financial year has been a rather special one for me and the entire team at ZEE. It is not just the beginning of another new year, but the beginning of an entirely new life for the company. The beginning of a company which is transforming in line with its new realities. The beginning of a sharper, leaner, greener version of ZEE. The beginning of ZEE 4.0,” Goenka said.
Summing up ZEE’s journey since the company was born in 1992, Goenka described the phases it went through thus:

• ZEE 1.0 (1992 - 2000): Where the nation witnessed the birth of not just a channel, but an entire industry in itself. ZEE emerged as a brand synonymous to entertainment, in India and for the Indian diaspora across the world. A phase characterized by ambition, growth and success.

• ZEE 2.0 (2000 - 2006): This phase was nothing less than a reality check for ZEE. A tough phase which was filled with fierce competition. If the previous phase was about staying ahead of the curve, this one saw the company being complacent and playing catch-up rather than being at the forefront of change.

• ZEE 3.0 (2006 - 2019): Goenka’s journey with ZEE began in this phase. “I witnessed the evolution of the company, first hand. While we were busy narrating stories to the world, this phase wrote its own script filled with ups and downs, mergers and demergers, acquisitions and divestments, survival and growth, good decisions and the not-so-good ones. This phase too, had one trait in common -resilience. We brought our focus back on content. The last 18 months have been extremely challenging, with the financial headwinds experienced by the promoter group,” he said.

• ZEE 4.0: “ZEE is gearing up to take the next big leap. I would like to start this new phase with a clean slate and focus on the following 5Gs: Governance | Granularity | Growth | Goodwill | Gusto. These 5Gs will define the future of this great company and along with my team of professional leaders, I stand committed to regain our place of pride,” Goenka declared.
According to Goenka, here’s how these 5Gs will help create ZEE 4.0:

• Governance: ZEE 4.0 has at its helm an all-new reconstituted Board, with new members who bring in the required blend of expertise, experience and wisdom. The company has also introduced new policies to strengthen its governance, mitigate the risks and safeguard business interests.

• Granularity: ZEE 4.0 will adopt a more granular and transparent approach while reporting, ensuring that its stakeholders gain a deeper insight into the business.

• Growth: ZEE will continue to harbour a stronger focus on growth and profitability to constantly enhance shareholder value.

• Goodwill: With a strong intent to restore the goodwill of the company, Goenka put all rumours to rest, clarifying, “I am here to stay, and remain committed towards ZEE. I have taken this up as a challenge to restore the goodwill; not just for me, not just for my family, but for the entire team at ZEE.”

• Gusto: Acknowledging the professional leadership team of the company, Goenka stated that the zeal, passion and commitment displayed by the team has been amongst the key factors instrumental to the company’s success. The new ZEE 4.0 will further intensify these aspects to compete in a rapidly evolving world, he said.
Goenka ended the open letter by saying that people might have questioned the steps taken by his father and founder of ZEE, Subhash Chandra, in the recent past, but added that “pioneers see the world through their own eyes”. The new ZEE 4.0 is geared up with a stronger, strategic focus for the future with immense learnings from its previous phases and great ambitions to redefine the next phase of entertainment in India and across the world, he stated.