Zeel CEO meets his millionth Twitter follower, gifts her 'Z Factor' book

Manjiri Sonar, a 22-year-old residing in Pune, was in for a major surprise when she received a direct message on Twitter from Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on becoming his millionth Twitter follower.

What followed made the day memorable for Sonar. She and her family were driven in a chauffeur-driven luxury car to Mumbai, where Goenka interacted with them, exchanging thoughts and interests and sharing his life lessons. Goenka also presented Sonar with a personalised signed copy of 'The Z Factor: My Journey as a Wrong Man at the Right Time', an autobiography of Dr Subhash Chandra, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, and Chairman, ZEE and Essel Group.

Sonar recently graduated with an MBA in Human Resources from Pune University. She recently became active on Twitter, and as an aspiring business professional, she began following successful personalities to learn from them. Sonar and her family said they are big fans of Dr Subhash Chandra, and follow his television show.

Goenka's tweets on various issues inspired her. "I was going through tweets of Punit sir, and I really liked his thoughts, and decided to follow him. The next morning, I got a direct message from him on Twitter, informing me that I was his millionth follower and that he would like to meet me. It came as a big surprise, and I knew it was a huge opportunity to meet an international business leader," said Sonar.

Sonar and her family met Goenka at the ZEE Group's corporate office in Lower Parel. She said, "I was nervous at first, but Punit sir made me feel at ease. He is sweet, caring and a very organised person. He told me that he was now following me on Twitter. This was a stunning moment."

Goenka's interaction with Sonar was documented in a video, which was tweeted by him on Wednesday.

"It was a pleasure meeting my 1 millionth follower, Manjiri Sonar. This is the least that I can do for my followers. Wish I could do this with all of them. While it's always a pleasure to interact with them on Twitter, this time, I thought I must meet and interact in person. As senior leaders of the industry, we must motivate the youth because that's the future of our country."
Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL)

"I feel extremely privileged to be the chosen one to meet and greet with Mr Punit Goenka as his One Millionth Twitter follower. It was overwhelming to know that a successful business leader like Mr Goenka chose to celebrate this milestone with me. I can't thank him enough for hosting me and my family in such a grand manner in his office. I was completely awestruck by his simplicity and greatness. His journey to success is an inspiration for me and many others as I am just stepping into my career."
Manjiri Sonar