MUMBAI: Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL) managing director AP Parigi has stepped down from his post.
Parigi will serve as MD of ENIL up to 30 September, 2009. He has however accepted the Board’s request to continue to be associated with the company as a non executive director.
Parigi joined the Times of India Group in 2000 and led the company’s foray into radio, OOH media, and event management. He also led the dialogue with the regulatory bodies for the Phase II radio policy, which paved the way for the growth of the private FM radio sector in India. He was also associated with a number of other new media initiatives of the Times Group. He lead managed the acquisition of the UK radio business franchise of the SMG group – the first overseas acquisition by any Indian media group. More recently, he was awarded the 2009 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship in the Lally School of Management & Technology, New York. Parigi is the first non American to receive the award.
Parigi said, "I turned 60 years earlier this month and I thought I should devote more time and energy to pursue my long cherished personal interests and passions. It was indeed a privilege to be a member of the leadership team at the Times Group. I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at ENIL and am very delighted with the emergence of Radio Mirchi as India’s leading media brand."
Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd. managing director and ENIL chairman Vineet Jain added, "Mr. Parigi has contributed immensely to the development of the FM radio sector and the leadership of the Radio Mirchi brand. He has also been associated with several new media initiatives of the Times Group including Times OOH, Times Music and the Event management business during his nine year tenure with the group. The Board of Directors of ENIL and I reluctantly accepted his decision to step down as managing director of ENIL. Mr. Parigi will however continue to serve as a non-executive director on the board of the company."