The Gateway to Maharashtra
Sakal Media Group stands out as one of India’s most renowned media companies, delivering every type of media today, from print to video, film to digital, audio to social. With nearly a century of experience and a trustworthy infrastructure, we leverage technological innovation and social good to expand our influence and reach.
Leadership
Pratap Pawar, Chairman
An engineer from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, Mr Pawar is an industrialist and a man with vision. He has been on the Board of the Sakal group since 1985, and the newspaper has grown by leaps and bounds under his leadership. Having a presence in the entire state of Maharashtra and Goa, Sakal is now not restricted to being a ‘newspaper’, but is a ‘brand’ in itself.
Abhijit Pawar, Managing Director
Mr. Abhijit Pawar has been the Managing Director of the Sakal Media Group since 2004. A mechanical engineer by qualification, Mr. Pawar has passionately been involved in taking the legacy of Sakal Media Group to newer heights with his unique approach combining business capabilities, in-depth experience, social engagement and advocacy of socio-economic causes.
Janhavi Pawar, Director
Janhavi Pawar is a third-generation business leader at SMG, currently focused on strategy, innovation, and revenue generation, combining tradition with modernity to drive impactful journalism and community initiatives.
As a creative yet process-oriented leader, Janhavi is driven by a vision for global expansion, entering new markets and languages, and engaging diverse audiences through strategic initiatives. Her work includes leading the gamification project Doka-Koda and its digital counterpart, games.esakal.com, integrating Gen-AI to transform media workflows, fostering data journalism, and spearheading EduCon, a flagship event platform that bridges industry and academia to drive innovation.
A graduate of Reichman University, Israel, with a bachelor’s degree in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Finance, she is passionate about innovative ideas, startups, and creative strategies.
Uday Jadhav, CEO
With over two decades of experience in Business Strategy, Sales and Marketing, and Operational Management, Uday has an exceptional record of growing media product portfolios. Uday leads strategic initiatives and drives growth plans for the organisation. He oversees Sakal’s Print, Television, Digital, and Activation business and works closely with leaders across SIMACES to strengthen the AP Globale footprint.
Uday began his career at SMG as a Management Trainee and has served in various business functions for the past 20 years. He has led strategic initiatives and operations in several unit locations.
Uday holds an MBA from SIBER, Kolhapur, specializing in Marketing and Finance. He is passionate about outdoor sports and trekking and has visited Mt. Everest base camp, Annapurna base camp, Annapurna circuit route, and other similar places.
Mahendra Pisal, Chief Operating Officer
With over three decades of leadership experience in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Marketing, Legal, Administration, and Social Impact programs, Mahendra has played a pivotal role in shaping organizational growth at Sakal Media Group. He currently oversees the Circulation department and leads the Legal division for the group. Drawing on his administrative expertise and legal acumen, Mahendra drives sustainable expansion across various sectors of the organization.
Mahendra began his career as the Marketing Head for an FMCG company, managing pan-India operations, and later served as a Plant Head in a packaging company. Throughout his 31-year career, he has leveraged his multifaceted expertise to foster development and disaster relief initiatives. As a Trustee on Sakal Foundations, Mahendra continues to champion social impact programs across the country.
He holds an MBA from Pune University with a dual specialization in Marketing and Human Resource.
Vinod Bidwaik, CHRO
With over 25 years of extensive HR leadership experience across Indian and multinational companies, Vinod Bidwaik has successfully led Organizational Redesign, Human Resource Transformation, and Performance Management initiatives. He brings a rich legacy of contributing to Sakal Media Group, where he has been associated since 2005.
Building on key HR positions at Indian Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, DSM India, and serving as Vice President HR and CHRO at Alfa Laval for India, the Middle East, and Africa, Vinod now oversees the total employee life cycle at Sakal Media Group. He works closely with core and leadership teams across the organization, spearheading improvements in Talent Acquisition, Performance Management Systems, Talent Management, Succession Planning, and the overall employee experience.
He holds a degree in Microbiology and a Master’s in Personnel Management from SPPU. Additionally, he has completed the Strategic HR Management Programme at IIM Ahmedabad.
With extensive experience in journalism, Nilesh has an exceptional record of ensuring the highest standards of integrity, quality, and innovation in media content. As Chief Editor—Multimedia Content for Sakal Media Group and COO of Saam TV, he leads editorial strategy and oversees operational management. By harmonizing multimedia content across the Group’s diverse platforms, Nilesh plays a pivotal role in shaping narratives that resonate with audiences.
Nilesh’s meticulous attention to detail and unwavering commitment to accuracy drive his leadership approach. His proven track record in steering cutting-edge storytelling techniques has contributed to the continued success of Saam TV and the progression of multimedia content creation at Sakal Media Group.
He remains dedicated to fostering innovation and relevance in every project he undertakes, guiding teams to uphold the organization’s vision while adapting to the dynamic demands of the media landscape.
Raviraj Vahadane, President – Finance
With extensive experience in Corporate Finance, Fundraising, Compliances, Audits, Mergers & Acquisitions, Taxation, and Intergroup Investments, Raviraj oversees critical financial operations within the Sakal Media Group. He leverages his expertise to ensure smooth capital management, drive strategic transactions, and maintain robust regulatory compliance standards.
Previously, Raviraj served as Group CFO at Prabhat Dairy Ltd., where he raised private equity, led the company’s IPO in 2015, and played an instrumental role in the sale of the company to French conglomerate Lactalis in 2019. Additionally, he managed the subsequent Delisting process, working closely with the leadership team to navigate complex regulatory audits.
Raviraj is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Master’s in Commerce, specializing in Costing and Finance, from Pune University. His extensive domain knowledge and proven track record continue to drive financial excellence at Sakal Media Group.
History
Published first as a 4-page daily in Pune, Sakal – the flagship brand of the Sakal Media Group – was born on January 1, 1932 and has today evolved into the voice of the entire state of Maharashtra and is a regional leader in Print, Television, Online and Event Media. The Sakal Media Group is today one of the country’s largest independently run media businesses.
The birth of Sakal coincided with Mahatma Gandhi’s mass civil disobedience movement and though Sakal wholly supported the movement, the group has remained independent, maintaining neither political affiliations nor ties to any economic or parochial interests.
Founded by eminent journalist, Dr. N. B. Parulekar, the publication got its name through a competition inviting suggestions for titles for the proposed newspaper. The title ‘Sakal’ meaning morning in Marathi was chosen out of 4,000 suggestions that poured in.
Vision
Sakal Media Group’s vision is for sustainable, equitable and measurable socio economic growth and transformation through all its businesses.
Values
Underlying the entire group’s transformation initiatives, is a governance model stemming from the fundamental values that are the essence to the Sakal Media Group as a whole. All verticals as well as projects identified across sectors are born out of these basic values. While growth is our objective, it is imperative for this growth to be entrenched in a strong value system.
The ST-7 model defines the fundamental values espoused by the group and will be the acid test that all projects will be put through. Projects are evaluated first for their social impact and then the manner of implementation. Once the project’s positive impact on society is determined, the implementation will have to engage and connect with the stakeholders and be based on inclusive participation and consensus of all involved. Implementation paths chosen will also ensure accountability and transparency, efficiency and comply with the rule of law.
Timeline
