Obit: NDTV Group CEO KVL Narayan Rao passes away

KVL Narayan Rao, Group CEO and Executive Vice Chairperson, NDTV, passed away today morning at 8 am after battling with cancer for two years. He was 63. 

Narayan Rao had joined NDTV in January 1995, looking after Human Resources, Administration and Operations of the organisation. He was invited to join the Board of NDTV in 1998 and has been its Executive Director since then. He was appointed Group CEO in 2007 and Executive Vice Chairperson in August 2011. In October 2016, Narayan Rao was reappointed for a second tenure as Group CEO of NDTV, in addition to his responsibilities as Executive Vice Chairperson. 

Along with Dr Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, Narayan Rao played a vital role in the creation, transition and growth of NDTV from a production house to a broadcaster. 

A former President of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), Narayan Rao was also on the Board of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). He has been Vice President of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA). He also served as a Member of the FICCI Entertainment Committee as well as a Member of the CII National Committee on Media & Entertainment. 

He was the son of former India Army Chief late General KV Krishna Rao.

Narayan Rao started his career as a journalist with the Indian Express, before joining the Indian Revenue Service, where he held several important appointments during his tenure from 1979-1994.

There have been outpourings of grief following Narayan Rao’s demise, with media honchos like Raj Nayak, Rajdeep Sardesai and Rajat Sharma conveying their condolences on Twitter.

In an emotional message posted at the NDTV website, both Pronoy Roy and Radhika Roy have bid their farewell to Narayan Rao, where they mentioned that, "Narayan was one of a kind. A towering personality in every way." "His unshakeable integrity and his ability to make time to address the concerns of every person at NDTV, no matter how senior or junior, was what we counted on day after day as an institution - among many other qualities that he brought to work day after day as the CEO." they added. The message can be read here.