Rajat Jain to take over as Disney CEO and MD

Rajat Jain has called it a day at SET MAX. Sources inform that after a term of two years and eight months, Jain has decided to move on to a new and better opportunity. Resigning from his post of Executive Vice President and Business Head at MAX, Jain is all set to be the CEO and MD of the forthcoming Disney channel.

Walt Disney’s intention to set up operations in India is known for a year now. The company has been involved in making various appointments to put the structure in place. Even though the official appointment is not announced yet, industry sources inform that the most important of the appointments is made with Jain as the channel’s head.

Walt Disney Co has reportedly expressed that it would begin airing the 24-hour Disney Channel in India in 2005, expanding its push into Asia. It has already begun airing the 24-hour kids’ channel in Japan. In India, Disney plans to bring in with three channels.

The Disney Channel is part of Disney's media networks unit, which also includes the ABC broadcast network as well as cable channels ABC Family, the ESPN sports network, Soapnet and Toon Disney.

Jain is an electrical engineer from Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi, and a postgraduate from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. This background gives him the expertise in areas of corporate strategy, business development, project management, operations sales, and brand management.

Under his stewardship, MAX has seen initiatives like the ICC Cricket tournaments in 2002 and 2003 in the field of cricket and movie broadcasting, such as Extraaa Innings and Extraaa Shots respectively. Prior to this, Rajat was Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and New Media at SET. He came to the organisation from ASC Enterprises, where he was Senior Vice President, Business Operations.