MUMBAI : The board of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) , during the meeting held today, completed the process of reconstitution of the board and appointed three new independent directors in lieu of two independent and one nominee Director of Essel Group, namely Niharika Vora, Sunil Sharma and Subodh Kumar, respectively. The newly appointed independent director include: former bureaucrat (once finance secretary) and public sector professional R Gopalan, retired IPS professional Surendra Singh, and art entrepreneur Aparajita Jain.

The founder of ZEE and the pioneer of India's private satellite television industry, Subhash Chandra, during the meeting, expressed his intent to step aside as chairman, which he founded way back in 1992. The board accepted his resignation with regret and applauded his vision for the Company and the industry at large.

While Chandra stepped aside from the chair, he also expressed the desire to step aside as a board member. However, the entire board requested him to not only continue as a board member but also to be the 'mentor' to the executive management and its MD & CEO.

The reconstitution of the board was to strengthen and induct independent members with varied experiences to build value and provide a strong signal to the existing and new institutional investors who have recently reposed their faith in the intrinsic value of the company, by investing Rs. 4770 crore. The reconstituted board consists of six independent directors and two members from the Essel Group.

Besides, M Lakshminarayanan has resigned as Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary. In his place, Ashish Agarwal has been appointed as the Company Secretary of Zee with effect from 26 November.

Ashish , a Commerce Graduate and LLB from MDS University, Ajmer, is a Compliance professional with rich experience of over 20 years, including five years with Essel Group.