Vineet Jain

Vineet Jain graduated from the American College of Switzerland and joined B.C.C.L. as the deputy managing director in 1993. Although the brothers confer on all points of the business, Samir concentrates on newspapers and broad strategy, while Vineet focusses on television, radio, and the Internet.[3] Vineet has focussed on transforming B.C.C.L. into a multimedia company, making investments in radio with Radio Mirchi; television with Zoom and Times Now; the Internet with Indiatimes, BombayTimes and DelhiTimes; movie production and out-of-home advertising.[4]

In 2003, he conceived and launched Medianet, B.C.C.L.'s venture which allows advertorials to be written about the entertainment industry and celebrities. He helped launched brand capital which was conceived by his brother Samir Jain. Under this program, B.C.C.L. accepts ads in exchange for real-estate ownership or equity in a company.[3] B.C.C.L. has become one of the largest private equity investors in India with stakes ranging from 1 per cent to 15 per cent across 140 companies giving them a stranglehold over advertisers. This ads-for-equities model accounts for up to fifteen per cent of its ad revenues and is being followed by other media houses.[5]

Vineet considers himself as "the content architect.” He designed all the newspaper publications and made them modern and relevant to its readers. He takes credit for the idea of running small, boxed editorials alongside some front-page stories. This helps in separating news from the views transparently and makes the story more comprehensive and analytical and clearly expresses the opinion of the newspaper.

Vineet Jain is the great grandson on Ramkrishna Dalmia, the first Indian owner of B.C.C.L. His grandfather, Shanti Prasad Jain, took over the company from Ramkrishna Dalmia. Shanti Prasad's son, Ashok Jain, took control of the company in the nineteen-sixties and was chairman of B.C.C.L. until his death in 1998 from heart failure.[3]

Jain's mother, Indu Jain, holds the title of chairman of B.C.C.L.[3] His sister Nandita Judge, who also worked at the company, died in a helicopter crash in 2001.[6]

Jain is divorced.[3] His annual Holi parties at his Delhi residence and, under his aegis, the Bombay Times party in Mumbai are considered important events for celebrities.[4]

Jain often shares movie reviews, playlists and articles of interest through his account at MyTimes, a social networking feature on the Indiatimes website.[7] He splits his time between homes he shares with his brother in New Delhi and Mumbai.[3]

In 2018, Vineet Jain and Sanjeev Shah, executive president of B.C.C.L., were shown on camera as part of an undercover sting operation by Cobrapost for allegedly agreeing to produce fictional TV or web series content through the group's many media properties for a proposed spend of Rs 500 crore.[8]

When critics have claimed that private treaties skews its coverage and shield its newspaper advertisers from scrutiny, Vineet Jain has insisted that a wall does exist between sales and the newsroom, and that the paper does not give favourable coverage to the treaty partners and for transparency purposes all of them are listed on the company's Web site.[3]

• In 2009, Jain received the Rajiv Gandhi Award.[9]
• In the same year, he was also awarded Indian Telly Award for his contribution to Indian TV Broadcasting Industry. He was conferred Impact Person of the Year Award in 2013.[10]
• In the same year, Vineet received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from The Bombay Management Association.[11]
• He also won Media Person of the Year award from International Advertising Association in 2015[12][13]
• In 2018, he received Art Karat Award.[14]
• In the same year, he won the ITA Sterling Icon of Indian Entertainment Award in Media category.[15] He also received AsiaOne Magazine's World's greatest leader award, in 2018.[16]