Disney’s international content and operations group has announced the appointment of Sajith Sivanandan as executive vice president and head of Disney+ Hotstar.
Sivanandan will oversee Disney+ Hotstar’s overall business operations in India with direct responsibility for defining the streaming service’s strategic business priorities and charting its product roadmap. He will also work closely with local leadership team in international markets as well as with the Disney+ team in the US.
Sivanandan will take on this new role in October 2022 and report to Rebecca Campbell, chairman, Disney’s international content and operations group, and K Madhavan, president, Disney Star.
He moves from Google, where he was managing director and business head, Google Pay and Google's Next Billion User Initiatives, Asia Pacific.
Campbell said, “I am delighted to have Sajith join our executive team and lead the innovative team at Disney+ Hotstar. His deep experience in the region, combined with his strong leadership and business management skills will greatly benefit Disney+ Hotstar as the platform embarks on its next phase of growth.”
K Madhavan said, “After witnessing rapid growth in recent years, the OTT market in India has entered a transformational phase which calls for an ingenious approach to the manner in which we innovate for growth. Sajith’s wealth of experience that he has gained over the years makes him the best person to lead Disney+ Hotstar on this journey.”
Sivanandan added, “Disney and Star are brands with an incredibly rich history of innovation, user focus and storytelling, and Disney+ Hotstar brings those attributes together flawlessly. The opportunity to come back home to where I started my career and to work alongside a very talented team to serve Disney+ Hotstar users in India and emerging countries is both a privilege and an honour.”
In a career spanning 26 years, he has also worked with XA Network, Affle UK and The Gallup Organisation.
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