Management Team
Samir Patil, CEO and Founder
Samir has 10 years of strategy, operations, and technology experience in Media, Hi-Tech, and Healthcare firms. Before launching this entrepreneurial venture Samir was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, New York. He has worked with most of the top global media firms including magazine and newspaper publishers, consumer electronics companies, and cable TV and online service providers. His work has spanned a variety of critical areas within the media industry ranging from driving growth through digital media, launching new online services, improving ad sales efficiencies, and reducing costs through offshore business functions in India. Before going to business school, Samir worked as project manager in Parametric Technologies. He also founded Vertex Software India, a boutique services firm funded by Mitsui Ventures and acquired by NTT Data Corporation of Japan.
Samir was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he received a Masters from the Sloan School of Management and from the School of Engineering.
Ashish Goel, COO and CFO
Ashish has 5 years of experience in project execution and financial strategy. Before joining ACK Media, Ashish was a project manager at McKinsey & Company, India, where he worked on core implementation projects with India's top real estate, banking and healthcare provider companies. Ashish has extensive sales and distribution experience, including setting up from scratch India's largest sales setup for rural banking. He has also played a key role in one of India's largest and most successful IPO's. He has project managed large scale real estate projects, including India's highest-value single residential project. Ashish went to Business School at IIM Bangalore, where he was the only student to receive the prestigious T Thomas scholarship from HLL for all-round excellence. Prior to that he was at IIT-Bombay where he received a Bachelor's and Master's in Electrical Engineering.
Anant Pai, Editor Emeritus and Chief Story Teller
Anant Pai, popularly known as Uncle Pai, has been hailed as the Father of Indian comics. He is a graduate of the University of Bombay with BSc and BSc (Tech) degrees. His deep interest in philosophy, languages, literature and the arts led him to take up writing as his career. He launched Amar Chitra Katha in 1968 and went on to become the Founder Editor of Tinkle, a children's monthly magazine in the comic format, launched in 1981. Over his long career he has created several memorable characters and features including Ramu and Shamu, Kapish, Rekha, Fact Fantasy, Funland and Funtime, which continue to be serialized in leading newspapers and magazines.
Films and TV (The Ideas Box)
Anil Sanjivan, Managing Director
Anil was last Business Head at Miditech, and was involved in conceptualizing and production of shows like K for Kishore,Indian Idol, Choona Hai Aasman, Parivaar, Lead India, to name a few. Before that he built a career in the Advertising business, having run businesses and offices for Ogilvy & Mather where he was Vice President and then President of Speer communications an agency acquired my O&M. He was then at Enterprise Advertising where he was Executive Director, and on the Board of Directors.He has the experience of working and driving the strategic vision of some of the biggest Global and Indian brands. These include Kimberly Clark Lever, Cadbury, Pidilite (makers of Fevicol, Feviquick), Nilkamal plastics, Times of India,World Wide Media( owners of Femina) and Raymond to name a few.He has a successful track record in launching new brands and turning around brands in trouble. As well as streamlining companies and making them profitable.He is one of the few business heads who has an impressive portfolio of creative work. He scripted the Killer jeans revealing low ad which won the best film award at the AAAI awards as well as a Silver Abby for the Femina , Kamasutra print ad at the ABBYs.
He has lectured and conducted workshops at management institutes and seminars conducted by TISS, CII & Mudra Institute of Management.
Sudipta Dhruva, Creative Director
Sudipta Dhruva has been working in the space of children for the last 20 years. Having worked with Erehwon for over 10 years, she has had varied experiences with schools and education, while focusing on Creative thinking and Self concept building for children and teachers. A stint with Derek O'Brien and associates as Head of Training and Development allowed her to explore avenues within communication, media and television. She has worked on the Bournvita Quiz Contest and the KQ program. She was also partner in Different Strokes which was an event management company which was focused on events for children through which she has done many school contact programs and mall events. As Creative Head of the Kid's Vertical at Miditech, she has developed a host of ideas for television which are focused at children and families which include magazine format shows, reality shows, game shows and fiction.She was Content Producer for the award winning show MAD, Season 6 on the POGO Channel.
