As Sanjay Gupta takes over as the role of Google’s APAC CEO, we find this an opportune time to look back at how Star TV, under Uday Shankar, became a powerhouse for developing leaders. Shankar’s leadership created a platform for nurturing talent and preparing them for major roles in the industry. His vision at Star TV led to the rise of several key leaders who are now shaping the media business world.
Under Uday Shankar’s leadership at Star India and later Disney Star, numerous executives were onboarded across various leadership levels, including TV business, digital, distribution, legal, and human resources. His strategic hires and mentorship not only strengthened media enterprises, but also influenced the broader corporate world, emphasizing innovation, inclusivity, and forward-thinking leadership.
This underscores Shankar's role not just as a business builder but as a transformative figure, who has left an indelible mark on the media and business landscape.
In 2007, when Uday Shankar took over as the CEO of Star India, he initiated hirings at all levels.
One of the prominent names to be associated with Disney Star is Sanjay Gupta, who has recently been elevated as President - APAC at Google. Gupta was one of Shankar’s key hires at Star India. Gupta joined Google in 2020 as Country Manager after moving out of Disney Star where he was the Managing Director. Gupta had been instrumental in driving Star India's growth as expanded traditional television content to digital platforms through Hotstar and oversaw the adoption of HD channels. He was instrumental in curating Hotstar, India’s first media-led company powered through technology.
He also significantly contributed to building Star’s sports portfolio by acquiring rights for premier events such as IPL and ICC. He led collaborations with BCCI and innovations in sports entertainment with the launch of leagues in kabaddi and football.
Another key hire by Shankar was Ajit Mohan, who is currently serving as President, APAC Snap Inc. Mohan joined Star TV Network as Senior VP, Corporate in 2012 and later in 2015 he was elevated as the CEO of Hotstar. Mohan was the founding CEO of the streaming platform and built Hotstar as the leading platform in India. After resigning from Hotstar in 2018, Mohan joined Meta as VP and Managing Director-India.
The other name to feature among these head honchos is Gaurav Banerjee. Last month, Culver Max Entertainment (Sony Pictures Network India) appointed Banerjee its new CEO. Banerjee, who will be replacing NP Singh, was with Star India (now Disney Star) for over 16 years.
Like Shankar, Banerjee’s career spanned from his early days as a journalist to being a key leader at Disney Star. He was pivotal in shaping the network's entertainment portfolio. Under his leadership, the network launched successful shows leading the charts both on linear TV and digital. Banerjee's leadership at the Hindi Content Studio has resulted in numerous top-ranking shows like Anupama, Ghum Hai Kisi Ke Pyaar Mein, and Imlie. His contributions to Disney+ Hotstar include creating award-winning originals like Aarya and Special Ops.
Rupali Fernandes, the current Chief Revenue Officer at ABP Network, was associated with Star India for 20 years. Fernandes was handling sales and strategy for geo targeting products. She moved out of the company when she was Senior Vice President - Ad Sharp, Advertising Sales and Strategy.
Amit Chopra, co-founder of Avanzia Global Private Ltd., was with Star TV Network for over six years. Chopra was heading ad sales for Star India. He joined the network in 2013 as President of sales. Chopra moved out of Star and joined Esme Consumer Private Ltd. as Managing Director and CEO.
Gayatri Yadav, currently serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Peak XV Partners, was the President Consumer Strategy and Innovation at Star TV Network. She left Star India after eight years and joined Sequoia Capital as CMO India and SEA. Yadav was part of the leadership at Star India.
Whether it is the business side or the content side, formar Star executives and content heads are leading content at big streaming platforms.
Nikhil Madhok is another such name who is currently heading original content in India at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Madhok in Star has donned multiple hats. He headed Hotstar Original content and programming at Star Plus. He planned and executed some of the big shows like Satyamev Jayate and Mahabharat.
Shankar at Star, had built the sports portfolio. Under his leadership, the network won the media rights of Indian Premier League (IPL). The people hired some excellent talent for the network to build a sports portfolio. Gautam Thakar, who is now Global CEO, EDtech, Prosus Group was hired as CEO and President of Star Sports.
After Gautam Thakar left, Sanjog Gupta took over as the Star Sports CEO in 2020. Gupta joined Star in 2009 as a consultant. Before handling the sports content, he worked as VP whereas he was heading content strategy and development for Life Ok. Like Banerjee and Shankar himself, Gupta too comes from a Journalist background. He also worked at Star News India and TV Today Network in the past where Shankar also worked in early days of his career.
Rajeev Beotra, currently serving as Executive Director at HT Media, was with Star India from 2014 to 2016. Beotra joined the company as President ad sales (sports) and later was promoted as President ad sales.
On the other hand, Arghya Chakravarty, currently serving as COO at Shemaroo Entertainment was the EVP- Ad sales, Entertainment business at Star TV Network. He joined Star in 2017 and worked for over four years before moving on to COO role at Shemaroo.
Shankar under his leadership hired people across sectors. Some people joined Star from big FMCG giants like HUL or tech giants like Google. Nitin Bawankule, currently the director and head- telco, media entertainment and game tech at Amazon Web Services joined Disney Star as head ad sales from Google. He was responsible for the county ad sales revenues from Linear and digital video platforms.
On the distribution side, Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, Head - Distribution and International, Disney Star Disney Star hired under his leadership.Kapoor has been associated with Star for over 16 years now. He has spearheaded the transformation of the India distribution business under a pioneering channel retail pricing regime and strengthened the network’s presence across TV homes in the country. Segmented channel bundles were rolled out under his guidance to enable consumer choice with affordable pricing and attractive packaging options. He has played a significant role in making Sports more accessible to the Indian audiences by ensuring mass adoption of the Star Sports portfolio across semi-urban and rural segments, as well as regional languages.
On the legal front, Deepak Jacob, who headed legal and regulatory functions at the network is now working at Dream Sports as president corporate affairs and group General Counsel. He joined Star in 2008 and worked for over 15 years. He managed a team of 140 lawyers and non lawyers across the region and was reporting to Shankar.
Infact on the Human resources Amita Maheshwari, joined Star India in 2009 as President and Head HR. In her role she hired global talent for CEOs and CXO levels as well as all key positions for Hotstar and for linear TV. In 2019 she was promoted as the Head HR- APAC and India, International Content and Operations, TWDC and Star India.
Now that Shankar is a Vice Chairman of the merged entity (Disney Star and RIL), industry observers expect the same magic he did in Star.
Anil Jayaraj, currently serving as a CEO at Viacom18 Sport, was with Star TV Network. He served as the executive VP for over six years. Under him, Star Sports ad revenue jumped from Rs 1000 crore in 2015 to Rs 3000 crore plus in 2021.
Industry observers have been talking about companies earning a reputation as a CEO factory, Shankar is perhaps single handedly doing the same thing. Shankar's leadership philosophy and strategic approach to talent acquisition distinguish him as a standout leader.
