Responding to a question about the likelihood of an adverse Sebi ruling against Zee CEO Punit Goenka and whether the company has a succession plan in place to deal with this situation, Gopalan said that succession planning in a large company like Zee is a natural step in the functioning of the board, notwithstanding the external factors.
“Zee is a very big organisation that is run by a set of experienced professionals, and it’s not run by promoters,” said the 71-year-old bureaucrat turned board member, who joined the company in August 2020.
He added that Zee has one of the best talent pools which is capable of achieving the goals set by the company. “Ours is such a resilient organisation that a Sebi order against one key managerial personnel (KMP) can’t disrupt the company,” he noted.
Punit Goenka and his father, Subhash Chandra, chairman emeritus of Zee, are under investigation by the capital market watchdog for the alleged diversion of funds from Zee to promoter companies. The Sebi is expected to come out with its order sometime next month. Last year, Goenka secured relief from the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) against Sebi’s ban order barring him from holding the position of director or CEO of the company. Last month, Chandra also challenged Sebi’s ban order before the SAT.
While stating that the board was concerned about Sebi’s allegations against Zee promoters, Gopalan said, the Independent Investigation Committee (IIC) under former high court judge Satish Chandra will examine these issues and provide suggestions to the board. “During our period, nothing has happened; everything was before us. Let the IIC come back with findings, and we will deal with them as we go along,” he said. Gopalan also said that the failed merger between Zee and Sony should have gone ahead despite differences between the two companies. He also stated that the company has requested the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to implement the merger scheme. “We will continue to pursue the merger deal through NCLT. The merger deal should get implemented,” he said while admitting that the litigation with Sony will prevent Zee from exploring other financial or strategic options.
