PE firm IVFA ropes in former Network18 Group CEO Haresh Chawla

Former Group CEO of Network18 Haresh Chawla has joined private equity firm India Value Fund Advisors as partner in India with effect from 1 June 2012.

He will be responsible for building and scaling up businesses across sectors, as well as leading Media & Entertainment investments. Established in 1999, the PE firm identifies and invests in mid-sized businesses, and then helps them transform into large businesses over five to seven years.

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After a ten-year stint at Network 18, Chawla's expertise lies in building viable and profitable business models around brands . Under his leadership, Network18 grew from a single business news channel (CNBC-TV18) and solitary portal (Moneycontrol.com), with revenues of Rs 15 crore in 1999, to a diversified media group with revenues in excess of Rs 2,500 crore in 2011.

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He was also instrumental in scaling up Viacom18 from a Rs 150-crore business to a Rs 1,200-crore conglomerate, with each of its brands amongst the top 2 in their respective domains, including the very successful launch of Colors.

Chawla is an IIT-Mumbai and IIM-Calcutta alumnus and his previous assignments have all been with start-ups including the HCL Group, where he headed business development for HCL Comnet; ABCL, where he set up the film distribution business; and The Times of India Group where he launched their music label, Times Music.