Reliance Industries, Viacom 18 Media and The Walt Disney Company on November 14 confirmed the effectiveness of the Rs 70,352-crore merger, integrating the media and JioCinema businesses of Viacom18 into Star India.

The joint venture is managed by Reliance, with ownership stakes distributed as follows: 16.34% held by Reliance, 46.82% by Viacom18, and 36.84% by Disney. Reliance has allocated Rs 11,500 crore to the JV to facilitate its expansion.

Nita M. Ambani has been appointed as the chairperson of the joint venture, with Uday Shankar serving as the vice chairperson. The joint venture will be led by three CEOs: Kevin Vaz will oversee the entertainment division across all platforms, Kiran Mani will manage the combined digital organisation, and Sanjog Gupta will direct the unified sports organisation.

Let’s meet the leaders of the new JV:

Kevin Vaz – Vaz has assumed the role of chief executive officer – broadcast entertainment at Viacom18, having joined the company in July 2023. He held responsibility for the media company’s filmed entertainment division, in addition to overseeing regional content and marketing strategies for its digital entertainment sector.

With close to three decades of experience in Media & Entertainment, prior to joining Viacom18, Vaz previously led the entertainment division at Disney Star before his tenure at Viacom18. He played a crucial role in developing the markets for Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, and Marathi languages. His career highlights include the successful launch and management of 53 television channels, as well as driving revenue growth and spearheading innovative content strategies.

Vaz began his professional journey in sales and ascended to become the youngest network sales head for India’s largest television network. He has successfully guided teams through nearly every aspect of operations, including business management, revenue generation, content development, and marketing strategies.

Kiran Mani – Mani served as the chief executive officer for digital ventures at Viacom18. He possesses decades of experience in the digital and technology sectors. Kiran previously held the position of general manager for Google’s Android | Play ecosystems in the Asia Pacific and Japan regions before joining Viacom18. Kiran boasts a career that extends beyond 25 years, during which he has held several leadership positions at Microsoft and Google, in addition to founding a start-up from the ground up.

Sanjog Gupta – Gupta served as the CEO of the sports business for Disney Star starting in October 2020. He oversaw the business operations, product development (including programming and production), marketing initiatives, and strategic planning for the sports network. He served with the network for more than 14 years. Of the three CEOs, Gupta stands out as the sole representative from Disney Star. Anil Jayaraj, the CEO of Viacom18, resigned from his position in June.

He pioneered the regionalisation of sports broadcasts by delivering live feeds in multiple languages and establishing regional sports networks in Hindi-speaking markets, as well as in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

JioStar’s Leadership

Alok Jain: Jain has been appointed as the head of cluster, entertainment for Colors, overseeing Digital Hindi, Niche, Movies, and Studio divisions. In July 2023, he assumed the role of president and head of Colours Hindi and Regional at Viacom18. Bringing more than twenty years of expertise to the table, he previously held the position of EVP and head of Disney Star’s Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, and Kannada operations across both television and digital platforms before joining Viacom18.

Sumanta Bose: Bose will be the head of cluster, entertainment for Star Plus and Bharat, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati. Previously, he served as business head for Star Plus, Star Utsav, Regional East and head of the content studio for Disney+ Hotstar (Hindi). In July, he was given additional responsibility for Star Bharat, Hindi and English Movies Cluster, Kids and Infotainment channels, Live Entertainment and Network Business Analytics & Insights.

He had been with Disney Star for over a decade, leading first Star Jalsha and recently Star Plus. In a career spanning close to three decades, Bose has worked across agencies and brand, including RK Swamy, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Teleserices and PE Electronics.

Krishnan Kutty: Kutty will be the head of cluster, entertainment for South. He held the position of business and content head for the comprehensive South & Marathi regional portfolio, which included Star Suvarna, Star Maa, Asianet, Star Vijay, Star Pravah, and D+ H Regional Specials tailored for these markets. Kutty brings more than 18 years of expertise from his tenure at Disney Star. He has overseen programming, marketing, sales, and original content initiatives for Disney+ Hotstar.

Ajit Varghese: Varghese has been appointed as the head of revenue for the Entertainment & International divisions. In January 2023, he assumed the role of head of network advertising sales at Disney Star. Varghese oversaw the comprehensive advertising revenues for Disney Star’s television and digital sectors, focussing on growth through strategic sales initiatives, channel strategies, partnerships, and business development efforts.

Varghese joined Disney Star from ShareChat and Moj, where he held the position of chief commercial officer, overseeing monetisation strategies, spearheading marketing initiatives, and managing content partnerships.

Before joining ShareChat, Varghese held the position of global president at Wavemaker, where he managed business operations and spearheaded growth initiatives across more than 50 markets, operating from London.

He served as the CEO for Asia Pacific at marketing agency Maxus for three years, operating out of Singapore. He has collaborated with notable organisations including Madison World, Kantar IMRB, and Initiative Universal Media.

Other Key faces of JioStar

Piyush Goyal: Goyal will be the the head of TV distribution. In March 2023, he assumed the role of COO at IndiaCast, a company jointly owned by TV18 and Viacom18. Before joining IndiaCast, Goyal served as executive vice-president and head of key accounts at Star India, overseeing significant multi-system operators and direct-to-home service providers.

In a career spanning over 20 years, Goyal has held senior leadership positions spanning distribution, new business initiatives and other strategic projects. He has worked with prominent companies such as Star TV, Network18, NDTV, and DEN Networks.

Ishan Chatterjee: Chatterjee will be the head of Business, Sports Revenue, SMB & Creator. JioCinema appointed Ishan Chatterjee as its chief business officer in October 2024. He brings over two decades of industry experience, most recently serving as Managing Director at YouTube India, where he was instrumental in driving the platform’s growth and strategic direction.

Sushant Sreeram: Sreeram will be the head of marketing at the JV. He joined JioCinema as its chief marketing officer (CMO) in July 2024. He was earlier Prime Video India’s country director.

Sreeram joined Prime Video in 2018 as the head of customer and brand marketing.He was promoted to director of marketing in October 2020 and further elevated to director of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) Business in 2022.

Before joining Amazon, Sreeram led marketing for Xiaomi in India and held positions at HolidayIQ.com, eBay, Inkfruit.com, and Hindustan Unilever.

Author: Sonali Kamble