Rahul Johri: All you need to know about the newly appointed BCCI CEO

Rahul Johri, a media veteran of 20 years, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of BCCI and with this, he becomes the first ever CEO for BCCI. The CEO post has been created recently by the BCCI after the Lodha panel suggested them to do so. Johri's job description according to the BCCI is all about managing the stakeholders, overseeing smooth functioning of operations and building excellent strategies for the development of Cricket in India. Apparently, it was a long selection process before BCCI zeroed in on Rahul Johri. Johri, who has previously held top positions in the Discovery network for 15 years, is elated by his appointment. However, he will continue to work as a senior advisor for Discovery till the end of 2016.

Johri will take charge from the first of June and he will be based in Mumbai. He will be working from the BCCI Headquarters and will report to the dynamic BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur. Johri, expectedly upbeat on his appointment, was quoted saying “"I am honored at the opportunity to serve millions of Indian cricket fans. It will be my utmost endeavor to contribute to the Indian cricket. I am thankful to the President and Honorary Secretary of the BCCI for bestowing such faith in me. I look forward to everyone's support to fulfill this tremendous responsibility.”

The Board has welcomed Rahul with open arms with Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president and Anurag Thakur, the honorary secretary giving statements saying that they are looking forward to working with Johri and will be keen to get his inputs since he is vastly experienced.

The BCCI president, Shashank Manohar said “We are pleased to have Rahul with us and are sure his vast experience and knowledge will benefit the board. His vision, guidance and support will contribute towards the successful working of the BCCI." The Honorary secretary, Anurag Thakur said, "We welcome Rahul aboard and wish him luck for his new role at BCCI. In the past one year, BCCI has undertaken various initiatives aimed towards transforming the working of BCCI in order to make the functioning more robust. This endeavor is another initiative of the board aimed in the same direction and will mark as one more milestone towards strengthening the professional working of the BCCI."

Now, something about the man of the moment Rahul Johri himself. Rahul has worked in the media for almost two decades and he also plied his trade as Asia pacific's executive Vice president for the Discovery networks for 15 years.

He was the General Manager for South Asia operations in the last eight years of his tenure with Discovery.

He ably handled a network as vast as the Discovery, which comprises of 11 channels like the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery HD world, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and the HD channels. Under him, the channel became India’s greatest non fiction entertainment channel and the shows have managed to garner excellent TRPs.

In 2013, Rahul Johri was awarded the “CEO of the year” at the prestigious Broadcasting Industry Awards held by the World Brand Congress. He earned this award on the back of his innovative strategies that were deployed to establish Discovery as one the leading entertainment networks in the country.

The highly revered Rahul, was also the board member and treasurer of Indian Broadcasting foundation (IBF). He was also a member of committees like the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

His achievements for Discovery networks include launching new high definition channels, generating quality content for young and old alike. His ability to think out of the box will keep BCCI in good stead for the future. Johri, who is very highly rated amongst his peers, would love to take this new opportunity and write new chapters for the BCCI. Hopefully Rahul Johri can bring some transformation to the richest and the most controversial cricket board in the world through his astuteness and strong business acumen. We wish all the luck to Mr. Johri for his new innings.