Chennai: L.Ramkumar has joined the Chennai-based Murugappa Group company Tube Investments of India Limited (TII) as managing director.

The appointment marks a re entry into TII for Ramkumar who had earlier headed the company's cycles division before joining Fenner India Limited. In fact, in his 30-year career Ramkumar had spent around 15 years in TI itself in various capacities.

G.Ramprasad, who was earlier president, TI Cycles, has moved over to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as its CEO, south in charge of the company's four southern language television channels.

Ramprasad, a commerce graduate from Madras University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, had handled key assignments at the Murugappa group.

As the executive director of EID Parry India Ltd and the CEO of Parryware division, Ramprasad contributed significantly to the transformation of the unit from an inward focussed to a market- and consumer-oriented one.

Prior to his current assignment, he had handled sales and marketing at various consumer goods companies such as Funskool India Ltd, Hindustan Lever Ltd and Sara Lee (in India).

Speaking about his decision to get into a media company after selling sanitary ware and cycles, Ramprasad says, "The satellite channel scene in south is mature and it is time to look at positioning and promoting the channels vis--vis competition. My current role is like any other head of business to strategise the channel's growth.

Another top-level change took place in another Murugappa group company, E I D Parry (India) Limited, with the elevation of K.Raghunandan,. president (sugar), as its deputy managing director.

Raghunandan is widely perceived as a likely successor to P Rama Babu, managing director.

A chemical engineer and M.S from IIT, Madras, Raghunandan has worked in ICI group of companies.

He has around 20 years of experience in EID Parry in the areas of process, plant operations, and sales & marketing of farm inputs, information technology, strategic planning and business development.