Cosmos-Maya CEO Steps Down

Anish Mehta has stepped down as CEO of the Indian animation studio Cosmos-Maya after ten years in the role.

Mehta helped the studio grow from a 30-member team to a 1,200-plus powerhouse. He led the studio’s foray into original Indian animation IP with the launch of Motu Patlu and spearheaded co-production efforts with European and other international studios.

Following the creation of Motu Patlu, Cosmos-Maya created over 10,000 half-hours of kids’ animation content across 20-plus shows. Its key clients include Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network, Sony, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, Discovery Kids, Facebook and YouTube.

Also during his tenure, Cosmos-Maya grew with four different business streams globally and had a revenue and EBITDA growth of more than 25 times from 2012 to 2022.

Mehta played a pivotal role in getting private equity investors into the Indian animation business, first with KKR-backed Emerald Media and later with TPG affiliate NewQuest Capital Partners.

“I would like to thank Ketan and Deepa, the promoters of Cosmos-Maya for trusting me with the opportunity of growing the company,” Mehta said. “I would also like to extend gratitude to our previous investors, KKR-backed Emerald Media, Rajesh Kamat and angel investor Tilak Sarkar, for providing the right guidance and support on this journey. It has been a great pleasure working with the current investor, TPG affiliate NewQuest Capital Partners, and I wish them and the team of Cosmos-Maya all the very best for future growth and to carry the legacy forward.”