STAR India Reorganizes Leadership

MUMBAI: STAR India has reorganized its senior leadership under chairman and CEO Uday Shankar with the creation of new business units for entertainment, sports, digital, Fox STAR Studios, its operations in the southern states, and the creation of a pan-Indian content studio.

COO Sanjay Gupta has been upped to managing director, STAR India, and K. Madhavan will be managing director, South. Both report to Shankar, newly appointed to the chairman post.

“STAR India consistently sets the standard for innovation and growth in one of the world’s most exciting markets,” said James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox. “Uday, Sanjay, Madhavan and the entire STAR India team have built a world-class business that has grown at double the industry rate. We are proud of its success and look forward to the next chapter of growth under Uday’s transformational leadership.”

Under Gupta will be four CEOs for the new business units. Amit Chopra is CEO of entertainment, overseeing drama and movie channels, national and regional, in Hindi, English, Bengali and Marathi. Nitin Kukreja is CEO of sports, which includes the STAR Sports services. Ajit Mohan is CEO of digital, encompassing the OTT service hotstar. Vijay Singh has been tapped as CEO of Fox STAR Studios. Kevin Vaz has been appointed as CEO of South, reporting to Madhavan. The South business unit incorporates all of STAR’s business interests in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Gaurav Banerjee, also reporting to Gupta, will head up the pan-Indian content studio.

On the new leadership structure, Shankar commented, “I congratulate Sanjay, Madhavan and the CEOs on their elevation. This is a world-class team that has powered STAR to the number one position in the media and entertainment industry in India. Now, I personally and the entire team are even more dedicated to the cause of using STAR’s reach in India to inspire the imaginations of a billion Indians. To do this, we need to continuously innovate and disrupt. We have set ourselves a bold growth agenda and these changes will deepen the leadership bench, unlock entrepreneurial energy and position STAR better to deliver on its ambitions.”