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| CEO, Star TV |
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| Close friends who have known him for years say he is a smart and savvy street-fighter. But now Peter Mukherjea (he changed his name to Peter from Pratim in the UK, where he was born, as people found it difficult to pronounce) is facing the battle of his life. |
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| At the centre of the storm is the government norm that foreigners cannot hold more than 26 per cent in a company uplinking news. To get around this rule, critics say, Star has created a company called Media Content & Communications Services (MCCS), which controls the uplinking rights for Star News. |
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| The allegations flying thick and fast are that Mukerjea has attempted a thinly-veiled subterfuge and has stuffed the MCCS board with his men, who control 74 per cent. |
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| Mukherjea, of course, blames the controversy on "corporate rivals" who are losing market share to Star News. But he is not new to controversy or to audacious gambles that catapulted him to the big time. |
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| Mukherjea studied at the Doon School and landed a job as marketing executive with food conglomerate Heinz in the UK in 1972. From there he jumped to the International Wool Secretariat and then to ailing retail giant British Home Stores. |
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| But he was always keen on returning to India and joined advertising agency O&M, which brought him back to the sub-continent. That, however, did not last long and he finally washed ashore in Hong Kong with no job in hand and very little money to look for new opportunities. |
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| But his luck was about to turn. One day he approached advertising agency DDM Needham, which promised him a job if he could pass a stiff test. |
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| He had to win the account of an ambitious young company called Satellite TV Asia Region (Star), owned by the family of local billionaire Li Ka Shing. |
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| The rest, as they say, is history. Mukherjea won the account, worked with Needham for a few years handling the Star TV account, and finally signed on with his rapidly growing client. Soon afterwards he was despatched to India to kickstart the company's marketing department. |
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| But he received the shock of his life almost immediately after landing in India. Richard Li, who founded the company, had sold it to the world's most powerful press baron, Rupert Murdoch. |
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| By this time there was no looking back. After taking over from Rathikant Basu as CEO, Mukherjea put together a winning strategy. The anchor of the success story was the runaway hit Kaun Banega Crorepati, which transformed the company's fortunes and catapulted it to the top slot ahead of Zee. |
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| Mukherjea was also a key force behind the decision to aggressively Indianise the channel and focus on Hindi programmes. |
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| The results are stupendous: Star India, which was haemmhoraging, is now a media powerhouse with a Rs 1,200 crore turnover and India's second largest media company. |
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| Nevertheless, there have also been brickbats in the recent years. Rivals allege that Star made a mockery of government regulations by making a backdoor entry into FM radio by tying up with the P K Mittal group. The group's DTH foray has also been under the scanner. |
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| But many who know Mukherjea say the current controversy stems from the fact that Star TV India is still a one-man show when it comes to building political and government relationships. |
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| Says a close Mukherjea watcher : "He moves with the movers and shakers in Mumbai but hardly has anyone to build relationships in the political circles in Delhi. You cannot approach them only when you are in crisis." |
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| Mukherjea is learning the lesson as he jets between Delhi and Mumbai to ensure that his voice is heard by the government. |
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