Sakshi Jain was any boss's dream team member

I am still coming to terms with the fact that Sakshi Jain is no more. I have not only lost a person who has worked with me but also someone who was like family to me.

My association with Sakshi began in 2016 when I joined TV18 as President of Revenue & CEO of Forbes India. She was already working in the organisation at that point. The day I was introduced to all my National and Regional heads, some stood out as go-getters, disciplined, with a never-say-no attitude, and Sakshi was one of them.

After 30 years of being at the helm of affairs of most media networks in India, I can easily make out the difference between a genuine worker and a gas bag. Sakshi easily fits into the first category. Sakshi was the regional manager of CNN IBN, based in Delhi, reporting to the National Head based in Mumbai, who in turn reported to me. I always liked to make 6-8 market calls daily when I travelled to any destination. When in Delhi I used to always rely on Sakshi to fix up meetings and plan the day meticulously as she knew I liked a productive day and she had amazing contacts to fix up meetings. No matter how late work for the day winded up, she was there right on dot 9 am at the office the next morning, which I appreciated as I have always been  a stickler for discipline

Her passion for revenue numbers, and more than that her love for taking on challenging numbers marked her as any boss's dream team member. She also had a media planning background so selling with data came naturally to her. She was a very good leader and team player, who led her team from the front. She took her targets very personally and took on the pressure directly onto herself, not giving her bosses any scope to pick a fault. That was the level of her commitment. During the phase that she worked with me, I had never seen her take leave even when she was unwell and I had to ensure her boss made her take leave.

During this phase, I discovered she also had other talents like theatre, a love for music and painting to name a few. Though a strict vegetarian, she was a foodie in the real sense. She was a social person who could connect with all she met. Whenever we used to have office parties, she was the live wire and would be the last person to leave the dance floor. I would probably describe her as a free spirit. Whenever she was in Mumbai we used to host her at our home. It has been a real loss for me as she was like family to me. 

She is one of the very genuine humans who maintained relationships with everyone irrespective of chair or position. In the media world that we are, people are always hovering around bosses till they are in a position to influence careers, but Sakshi was different and her loyalty was not to the chair but to the person. Even after I left TV18 for another role, she was in touch and just as respectful.

Her attachment and commitment to her parents was evident in the fact that she refused to move base from Delhi to Mumbai, even though I had counselled her many times that career-wise Mumbai was more promising than Delhi, which would limit her talents to only news channels.

It saddens me even more that two of my very close team members, Sakshi and Zulfi left much before their time and have left a big void not only in our industry but for me at a personal level also.

The writer Joy Chakraborthy is Ex-Ceo TV Today, Executive Director- Zee Entertainment, Director- Times of India, Chief Business Officer ZNL, CEO- Goldmines Telefilms, President - TV18 group to name a few.