Walt Disney India has appointed Abhishek Maheshwari as country head.
He has been with Disney since 2012 and has worked in various positions, most recently as head of integrated media networks, overseeing the company’s bouquet of eight channels in India, including the Disney Channel.
In his new role, Maheshwari will be responsible for all of the company’s businesses in India, reporting to Walt Disney International executive vp and managing director South Asia Mahesh Samat, who returned to the company last year as country head. As part of a recent regional restructuring exercise, the company’s India business was consolidated under a South Asian hub integrating Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam under Samat’s leadership.
“Disney brands continue to grow across platforms and consumer segments in India,” said Samat, adding: “Since joining the company, Abhishek has championed and driven strategic changes that have positioned our businesses to achieve consistent significant growth.”
“Together, our team will focus on bringing the best of Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars and our homegrown brands of Hungama, Bindasss and UTV to Indian audiences and provide great consumer experiences across all our businesses,” said Maheshwari.
Last year, Disney confirmed that it would shift its focus to driving its Hollywood slate in India and ending Bollywood production “given the challenges with the current economic model for investing in the local film industry.”
