Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

Role Overview

Patrika Digital is looking for a hands-on strategic operator to assume full P&L ownership of our digital ecosystem. As the Chief Digital Officer, you will lead the digital business as a true peer to print and editorial leadership, setting and defending the annual digital roadmap. This role demands an executive who can navigate a legacy, family-owned governance structure while aggressively modernizing our products, technology, and distribution surfaces.

Key Responsibilities & Core Problems to Solve

• Reverse Traffic Decline: Diagnose the root causes behind Patrika's recent slide from ~5,600 to ~6,500 in global ranking and double-digit MoM traffic drops (uncover algorithm hits, AI-overview shifts, or internal product debt) and implement a permanent fix.
• Diversify Distribution & Revenue: Build a reliable second leg of distribution and monetization beyond Google organic traffic, which currently commands 35–42% of our footprint, by scaling native apps, premium subscriptions, social media, and owned-audience channels.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Unify SEO, product, app development, revenue, and editorial functions under a single cohesive product roadmap.
• Strategic Governance: Manage regular dashboard audits, tightly run the digital leadership team, and personally steer platform relations (Google, app stores) and critical editorial-digital tradeoffs.

Experience & Scale Requirements

• Must have managed a digital P&L for a property driving 5–20M+ monthly visits or a comparable DAU-scale consumer application.
• Experience operating a multi-property digital portfolio (web, app, e-paper, and print-adjacent surfaces) with distinct economics per surface.
• Proven track record of navigating major Google algorithm updates (Core updates, Helpful Content updates, or AI Overview shifts) with clear strategic pivots.

Critical Disqualifiers

• No experience with vernacular or regional-language (Hindi/Indic) digital products; a career built exclusively on English-language, metro/urban media will not transfer to this audience behavior.
• A pure growth-marketing or performance-marketing background lacking deep product and technical fluency.
• A tactical mindset without the ability to operate strategically.
• Lack of comfort working within a legacy-institution or family-owned corporate structure.