Archana Karulkar : General Manager Administration & HR (Mumbai) - Television Eighteen India Ltd

Name: Archana Karulkar

Designation: General Manager Administration & HR (Mumbai) - Television Eighteen India Ltd

Sun Sign: Taurus, 13 May 1961

Educational Experience
B.Sc Nutrition Major from SNDT University in Mumbai.

Post Graduate Diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics from Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition (IHMCTAN) in Mumbai.

Professional Experience
My professional experiences are as varied as my life experiences. As a full time air force wife I travelled extensively and lived in places as diverse as Avantipur in J&K to Belgaum in Karnataka. From teaching in air force schools to a career in television my professional life has been quite wide ranging.

Job Profile
At Television Eighteen my work profile is an unusual mix of line and staff functions. As the General Manager administration & HR, I play a critical role of not just handling day-to-day activities but also assisting various departments in smooth functioning.

For a television channel the most important resource is the people. Which is why it is immensely important that the person handling HRD (Human Resource Development) is a television professional and has a complete understanding of how a production and broadcast house functions.

My broadcast experience dates back to the days when I used to manage high profile guests for ABNi, moving on to reporting for the same. In the entertainment genre, I have been a producer for a range of shows like Kinetic Mega Show on Star Plus and Fan Club on SABe TV.

At Television Eighteen, besides the above functions I also manage reputed on-ground events like CNBC India's prestigious annual Mutual Fund Awards, Auto Awards, Managing India Brainstorm to name just a few.

Television as career choice
As I travelled and gathered experiences, I figured that connecting and communicating with people came quite naturally to me. It all began as an opportunity to utilise these skills and since then has evolved into a very challenging and fulfilling career.

The sheer power of the medium, its reach and ability to change lives through information makes it a highly exciting platform.

Current Television scenario
I think it?s at an exciting stage. Like any media business it has its shares of fads and fallacies but the overall quality is excellent. The discerning Indian viewer makes sure of that!

Right and wrong about current television scenario
Rights and wrongs are not absolutes; there are mistakes sometimes, which a tough audience will not allow you to repeat.

Expectations and pressures are both high and so are burnouts amongst professionals. Talented professionals are constantly drawn to this industry but somewhere they stop getting the time to reflect, retrain, unlearn and learn new things.

Nurturing talent and self-development is an area where I feel the industry will have to make some investments.

Hobbies
It is not so much of a hobby as a passion... I work closely with the Make a Wish Foundation and help fulfill wishes for terminally ill children. Their wish list often includes meeting with stars, cricketers and other role models. And my media background helps me make these wishes come true.

Five years from now
In this business we are oriented to much smaller time frames, five years is a lifetime away... Making a difference in the medium that makes a difference is the underlining objective each day.

Idea of enjoyment A good day at work, reading a romance on a rainy day, chatting online with my sister and taking off to my farmhouse in Umbergaon with my husband and son.