Mridu Bhandari is Editor – Special Projects at Network 18. She has 14 years of multi-disciplinary television media experience. She conceptualizes, scripts and anchors special programmes in various formats in studio and outdoors, as well as moderates panel discussions for TV and digital platforms. She leads many projects across diverse genres on Network 18 platforms (CNBC TV-18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN-News18, News18 India, Forbes India) covering emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, brand stories, personal finance and healthcare. Mridu has interviewed hundreds of notable personalities – global as well as Indian economists, politicians, business leaders, academicians and startup enthusiasts on numerous issues and also hosts most of Network 18’s flagship events.

Prior to Network 18, Mridu was a founder employee at ET NOW, Timesgroup and the creator of India’s first daily primetime television show for micro, small and medium enterprises – ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’. As anchor and editor of the series for 5 years, she led a team of pan-India reporters and interviewed hundreds of startups, SMEs, industry leaders as well as policy makers with an aim to bring unsung, innovative entrepreneurs into mainstream media.

Mridu is perhaps one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, having won it in the second year of her career for her exemplary body of work on rural development. She has also been on the jury of Microsoft’s ‘Imagine Cup’ twice – a worldwide competition for student entrepreneurs. Mridu is a post graduate in Broadcast Journalism from the prestigious Asian College of Journalism, Chennai and has a degree in B.Com (Honours) from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University. In her free time, she blogs about small businesses, mentors journalism students and teaches public speaking skills to school kids.