HT Media appoints TikTok’s Sameer Singh as Group CEO

HT Media has appointed TikTok’s Sameer Singh as Group CEO, as per the company's exchange filing. Singh will take over from Praveen Someshwar, who resigned from the position of Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, with effect from February 28.

Singh, who led TikTok North America as the head of ad sales, recently has stepped down from his position. Talking about the development, Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson of HT Group, in an internal note, said, "Praveen has chosen to pursue opportunities outside the organization and will step down as Managing Director of HT Media, as well as from other positions he holds in various group companies, with effect from 28th February 2025."

"Over the last six and a half years, Praveen has successfully led the organization, transforming our portfolio and guiding it through the difficult COVID period. He built a young, innovative, and strong tech/product team that has created robust, scalable, and sustainable digital businesses, thereby future-proofing the organization. Our legacy businesses of print and radio are now back to sustainable growth and margins," she mentioned.

Talking about Sameer Singh, Bhartia said, Sameer Singh is being appointed as Group CEO with effect from 1st March 2025. He will be responsible for the overall strategic leadership of the company, formulating and implementing progressive strategic plans, driving growth, and providing effective leadership across the group. He will work closely with the Board."

Sameer is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta. In his most recent stint, he serves as Head of North America Global Business Solutions at TikTok/ByteDance, where he is responsible for leading the advertising and sales teams across all advertising revenue in North America. Prior to that, he was leading the Asia Pacific region in a similar capacity.

In a career spanning over 30 years, Sameer has been at the forefront of digital and brand innovation in marketing and has lead it from the perspective of digital platforms, advertisers, and agencies. He spearheaded the media agency network GroupM as Chief Executive Officer - India and South Asia, driving competitive advantage with digital leadership and content to clients. Prior to GroupM, he has worked at Google, GSK, Procter & Gamble, and IPG. At Google, he led agency partnerships in India and client conversations on the value of digital strategy for the Americas and global large customers. At GSK and P&G, he has led the evolution of media spending, especially into the world of digital. He has lived and worked in cities including New York, New Delhi, Palo Alto, Boston,London, Dubai, and Guangzhou.

Prior to his role at TikTok, Singh served as GroupM’s South Asia CEO. In the past, he has worked with Google, MullenLowe Lintas Group and Procter & Gamble.