Disney appoints Sajith Sivanandan as head of Hotstar

Disney’s international content and operations group has announced the appointment of Sajith Sivanandan as executive vice-president and head of Disney+ Hotstar, that its video streaming service is known as in India and other Asian markets.

Sivanandan, who joins Disney+ Hotstar from Google, will take up his new role in October with a dual reporting line to Rebecca Campbell, chairman of Disney’s international content and operations group and K Madhavan, president, Disney Star. 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 a product roadmap for Disney+ Hotstar’s growth in the years ahead, the company said in a statement. He will also work closely with local leadership in international markets as well as with the Disney+ team in the US to drive Disney+ Hotstar’s continuous growth.

“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,” Rebecca Campbell, chairman, international content and operations, the Walt Disney Company said in a statement.

Sivanandan comes with experience in strategic business and leadership roles across international markets. He has spent over 14 years at Google, most recently serving as managing director and business head of Google Pay and Next Billion User Initiatives for their APAC region. Prior to that role, he led Google Pay in India, with responsibility for building the business from the ground up, defining and designing the overall strategy and growth for the service in the country. Sivanandan began his professional career with Star TV in India in 1996, where he managed the north India market for Channel V.

Disney and Star are brands with a history of innovation, user focus and storytelling, and Disney+ Hotstar brings those attributes together, Sivanandan said in a statement. “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 in emerging countries is one that is both a privilege and an honour,” he added.