Uday Shankar has a Midas touch: Anupriya Acharya
Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Groupe South Asia, says Shankar has accelerated future-readiness and value-creation for the industry as a whole
With Uday Shankar stepping down as President of The Walt Disney Company (APAC) and Chairman of Star & Disney India, we at e4m reached out to some of the top industry leaders for their thoughts on the big exit.
Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Groupe South Asia, had this to say: “Uday Shankar undoubtedly has had a Midas touch. Under his leadership, Disney-Star has seen a meteoric rise by pushing all creative boundaries, scaling up operations and drumming up innovation and growth. His bold vision, focus and actions, be it the acquisition of the broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League – touted to be a landmark deal in India’s sports broadcast history, disruption of the digital space with the launch of Hotstar and now Disney+, iconic shows such as Satyamev Jayate and focus on grassroots sports such as Kabaddi, is truly admirable.”
Talking about Shankar’s contributions to the M&E industry, Acharya said: “At an industry level, he has accelerated future-readiness and value-creation for the industry as a whole. It’s been wonderful knowing him through the years and I wish him all the very best for the innings ahead.”
Shankar took over as President, The Walt Disney Company APAC and Chairman, Star & Disney India, in February 2019.
Prior to that, he was President of 21st Century Fox for Asia and the Chairman & CEO of Star India. He took over the leadership of Star India in 2007 and transformed not only the Star business into one of the largest and most successful media companies in Asia but has also played a significant role in revolutionizing the media landscape of the region with a great team, audacious strategy and meticulous execution.
