Founder Raghav Bahl quits as the Quint’s managing director

Raghav Bahl, founder of the Quint, has resigned as the company’s managing director, Mint reported.

He will, however, continue to act as non-executive promoter director on the company’s board, according to a statement by the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Bahl founded the Quint after his previous company, the media conglomerate Network 18, was acquired by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance. Bahl had launched Network 18 in the early 1990s and expanded it to a media giant with several TV channels and digital properties. By 2011, the company had accumulated huge debts and sought money from Reliance, which eventually took it over in 2014.

Newslaundry could not contact Bahl for a comment on his resignation, despite repeated attempts.

Apart from the Quint, Bahl’s company also runs Quint Hindi and FIT. It reported a total revenue of Rs 11.1 crore as on March 31, 2019. Its turnover was Rs 7.25 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 3.35 crore in 2016-17.

Update: Responding to Newslaundry in the evening, Bahl said, "The proposal is to appoint my wife, Ritu Kapur, as the MD and CEO of the company. Our family is fully committed to the Quint."

Asked about his reason for stepping down, he said, "There are other activities and responsibilities to focus on, while Ritu is in any case shouldering day to day leadership at TQ as the CEO!"

He added, "There are several interesting editorial and business opportunities that I am involved in and incubating."