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India’s Music Broadcast Limited, which operates the FM radio network Radio City, has appointed Abraham “Abe” Thomas as chief executive officer, effective Sept. 1, 2025. It is his second tenure in the role. He succeeds Ashit Kukian, who stepped down to pursue another professional opportunity and resigned from the company’s Risk Management Committee.
Radio City, part of India’s Jagran Prakashan Group, operates 39 FM stations across 12 states and one union territory, reaching more than 60% of the country’s FM radio listeners. The appointment is a significant moment in Indian broadcasting, given the size of the domestic market and its importance to the global audio industry.
A career across platforms and markets
Thomas brings over 30 years of leadership experience across radio, television, print, and digital media. He began his career in advertising sales at The Indian Express in the early 1990s before taking senior commercial roles at Sony Entertainment Television and MTV Networks Asia. In 2005, he moved into radio as COO at Red FM, one of India’s largest private FM broadcasters.
His career also includes international roles, such as head of content and broadcast at Malaysian network Astro. In 2012, he co-founded One Network Entertainment, a digital video content company. Thomas returned to radio in 2015 as CEO of Radio City. He later moved to Reliance Broadcast Network, operator of BIG FM, where he led digital-first programming and content innovation strategies.
The combination of experience across FM broadcasting, television and digital platforms, as well as exposure to markets in South Asia and China, has given Thomas an outlook that extends beyond India. For international observers, his reappointment underscores the strategic importance of the Indian audio market. With a population exceeding one billion, India represents one of the largest potential radio and digital audio audiences in the world. Leadership changes at companies such as Radio City are seen as indicators of how the sector may adapt to the pressures of digital competition and shifting consumer behavior.
Executive changes
Alongside Thomas’s appointment, Music Broadcast named Rajiv Shah as chief financial officer and key managerial personnel, effective Aug. 20, 2025. Shah, a chartered accountant, joined the company in 2022 and has been responsible for managing investor relations and corporate strategy.
The company also announced a restructuring of its Risk Management Committee, which will now be chaired by Shailesh Gupta, with Anita Nayyar and Divya Karani as members.
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