BBC Global News names Preet Dhupar as COO, India

The BBC has today announced the appointment of Ms. Preet Dhupar as Chief Operating Officer for the Indian operations of BBC Global News Ltd, the company which comprises the BBC’s commercial news operations, BBC World News and BBC.com/news.

Having brought together its TV and online interests globally, the BBC has created this role in India in order to ensure an integrated and consistent focus on its English language news interests during a period of rapid change and growth in the Indian media sector. In addition to her existing remit Preet will take responsibility for determining the BBC’s commercial priorities and targets for news across India and for monitoring performance against them in terms of advertising revenues, content distribution and overall audience growth.

A chartered accountant by qualification, Preet joined the BBC in 2000 and was instrumental in setting up operations in India. Most recently the Director of Finance and Operations for BBC Global News Ltd and BBC Worldwide in India, she has been responsible for providing operational leadership and management of the BBC’s commercial businesses in India and Singapore. While supporting growth opportunities in the market, her core role has been to provide financial, commercial and regulatory expertise to the business. Prior to this, Preet was part of the BBC’s global finance team based in London.

Before joining the BBC she worked with Becton Dickinson India in a strategy and financial planning role as part of the team that established the company’s business in India. She has also worked for Caltex and KPMG in India.

On January 14, BBC World News launched from new studios in Central London with a refreshed line-up of presenters and programmes, such as Global with Jon Sopel.

Last week, the BBC announced that initial data released by TAM following’s India’s recent digitalization shows that BBC World News has reinforced its leadership position as India’s top English language international news channel.  The TAM data also shows that, following digitalization, BBC World News has substantially increased its audience in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Jim Egan, COO of BBC Global News Ltd says: “This appointment comes at a crucial time for BBC Global News Limited in India as we build on recent successes and seek to expand onto new and evolving platforms. Preet will bring increased focus to the market, helping to support our ambition of bringing world class international journalism to dynamic and sophisticated Indian audiences.”