Shashi Shekhar Vempati appointed Prasar Bharati CEO

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, former principal architect of Infosys Technologies, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati. His name was recommended by a three-member committee headed by Vice President of India Hamid Ansari, and consisting of Chairman, Press Council of India, and the President’s nominee, that is, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting. Vempati has been appointed for a period of five years from the date of assumption of office. 

The appointment was announced on Friday, June 2, 2017, seven months after the last CEO, Jawhar Sircar, resigned from the post. 

Vempati has been a part time Member of the Prasar Bharati Board since February 2016 during which he has served as Chairman of Audit Committee, Member of Finance & Accounts Committee, Technology Committee, Sports Rights Committee and HR Committee. 

An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Vempati has over two decades of experience as a Technocrat with specialisation in areas of Corporate Management, Technology Consulting and Digital Media. He has worked in Infosys for more than a decade as Product Strategist and Digital Innovator in North America. He currently holds two patents – ‘Real Time Business Event Monitoring, Tracking and Execution Architecture’ and ‘System and method for monitoring and management of inventory of products and assets in real time’ under his name. 

Vempati has authored many books, namely ‘Broadcasting Technologies in India’, ‘National Digital Security Architecture in India’, ‘Creating a Global Media Platform out of India’, among others. 

Commenting on Vempati’s appointment, A Surya Prakash, Chairman, Prasar Bharati said, “Shashi Shekhar comes with very strong credentials. As a part time member of Prasar Bharati, he has been doing a great job. Technology and media management are his strong suits, which are a must for the CEO of Prasar Bharati, the biggest media organisation in the world. I thank the Government for this decision.”