BBC advertising veteran Sunita Rajan heads to CNN

Rajan will join the company in March 2015 and will lead teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, New Delhi and Mumbai and a network of representatives across Asia, overseeing strategy to increase ad revenue. In addition, she will be part of chief commercial officer Rani R Raad’s team to determine the brand’s international commercial strategy.

“Sunita’s expertise fits perfectly with CNN’s multi-platform offering and she is ideally equipped to take CNN’s long-standing commercial success in the region to the next level,” said Raad. “She will undoubtedly prove a valued colleague to the entire Asia business across the full spectrum of our commercial activity in the region where CNN continues to enjoy a strong leadership position.” 

Rajan will be supported in her new role by Sonali Chatterjee, Stacey Rabsatt, Atsushi Saito and Sally Young, directors respectively for South Asia, South East Asia, Japan and North Asia (including New Zealand & Australia.)

Turner International Asia-Pacific, part of the parent company that owns CNN, has had a challenging time in the region. In 2013, it reduced its Asia-Pacific workforce by about 30 per cent as the company hoped to align the company's structure with "future ambitions", the company said in a statement.

Following the restructure, Turner Asia-Pacific was decentralised from its Hong Kong headquarters and fully focused on the company's three regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia-Pacific and North Asia. 

News of Rajan’s departure from BBC comes just months after regional director Michael Rees left the network.

Rajan spent 16 of her 25 year media career at BBC. Her other stints include roles at Star Television and News Television (India).