Indian digital media house, the Network18 Media & Investments has announced that it has appointed B Saikumar as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the conglomerate.

B Saikumar, who has been working as the COO of the Network18 Group, will also join the boards of Viacom18 and Homeshop18 and will report to Raghav Bahl, who I the founder of the Rs 2,500 crore media giant.

Saikumar will take the responsibility for the group's news, Web, publishing, entertainment and allied businesses. He said that he is excited about the future prospects and will set ambitious goals and will achieve every single one of them.

CEO Haresh Chawla had announced earlier this month that he is leaving the group to follow other challenges. He has headed the group for a decade and is a respected figure in the Indian media industry. He helped Network18 reach more than 300 million households through various mediums including television, print, films, mobile and the Internet.

Chawla was also the force behind the creation of Viacom18, which runs popular TV channels like COLORS, MTV, Nickelodeon and Vh1 as well as a processing facility called, Studio18. The group also runs an Internet and mobile division called Web18 Software Services Ltd that operates Moneycontrol. com and e-commerce site HomeShop18. com.

The vast group also has presence in news segment on the TV and runs channels including, CNBC TV18, CNBC AWAAZ, CNN-IBN, IBN 7 and IBN-Lokmat.

Mr. Chawla said, "He has seen the company grow from its very early days across various businesses, which has given him a width of experience that is tough to find in the media business. He is an accomplished leader and a true people's person."