Sahara-Percept ink management contracts, Shailendra Singh to head Manoranjan

Sahara has entered into a management contract with Percept D’ Mark, for three of its key businesses, namely radio, television and film production. And, Shailendra Singh (Managing Director, Percept) is slated to emerge as the de-facto head, while his designation in all likelihood would be that of the CEO, Sahara Manoranjan.

Most senior officials at Sahara, including Satish Menon would be reporting to Singh. The senior level tussle is also being accompanied by a rapid recruitment drive within these three areas, say ex Sahara officials. The channel is expected to make a formal announcement by June 29. At the moment, details are rather sketchy, since both Sahara and Percept are unwilling to share details.

Sahara had struck a similar chord with Percept in 2001. In the days when Sahara was moving on four cylinders to launch its mother channel, promoter Subroto Roy was not opposed to external help. The Percept duo (Harindra and Shailendra Singh) along with some senior managers were handed the marketing and programming mandate of the channel. However, they did not (at the time) have a penchant as far as the management went. After 7- 8 months of its implementation, the contract was revoked.

Established in 1994, Percept D’ Mark was set up as an independent agency providing solutions to clients across various industries and sectors and has grown over time as a premier sports, entertainment celebrity marketing and management company. Globally, it is aligned to the $ 20-billion Aegis Group, which has an infrastructure across 60 countries. In recent days, the agency was in the news for the ‘Mr and Ms Bollywood Hunt’ which was initiated in March 2004 for Sahara. The agency was conducting and supervising the logistics of the entire event, which etched out 30 potential film stars across the country.