Peter Mukerjea comes clean on his new role at Star Group, his indulgences and fatherhood skills.
Peter Mukerjea comes clean on his new role at Star Group, his indulgences and fatherhood skills.
For someone who's supposedly being sidelined, Peter Mukerjea is remarkably cool. Two and a half months ago when he was appointed CEO of Star Group (allegedly to curtail his powers over the group's main business) rumours were rife that he might quit.
But the man himself, who played a key role in Star's fortunes, is far from affected by the loose talk. If anything, he appears charged about his new job profile, which involves branching out into new media-related businesses. "The reason for the re-structuring is to allow me the flexibility to think without any baggage. We have a good brand, we're connected to millions of consumers, so the whole purpose is to take this forward into different categories," explains Mukerjea.
If there's any discontent (as his critics would like to believe) it has certainly not affected his loyalty to Star. "If something is not right, I'd obviously share it with Sameer (Nair, his one-time deputy and now CEO of Star Entertainment India). But other than that I don't really get involved. That really is the best way to go."
Interestingly even with his new responsibilities, Mukerjea doesn't feel the need to de-stress. "Funny enough, I don't get stressed. I think of work as play." That's not to say he doesn't work long hours or think of work over the week-ends. "I just balance my life better," he offers. So indulgences include good living, good food, travelling and golf. "I like experimenting with different kinds of cuisines," he smiles.
Surprisingly this father of three — sons Rahul and Rabin, and daughter Vidhi — doesn't think too much of his parenting skills. "I'm a pretty awful dad because I'm not around much. And when I am, I am over-indulgent!" he reveals.
As for cracking the winning formula, Mukerjea says, "You've got to hold on to committed people and have the support of your investors. Television is a hungry beast when it comes to funding, but once things turn around it has the opportunity of going places."
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