Sajith Sivanandan has been appointed by Disney as the Executive Vice President and Head of Disney+ Hotstar, according to a press release shared by the company. Sivanandan was associated with Google for over 14 years and was responsible for the growth of Google Pay in the country. He was last serving at Google as the Managing Director and Business Head of Google Pay and Next Billion User Initiatives for their Asia-Pacific region. [caption id="attachment_167406" align="aligncenter" width="296"] Sajith Sivanandan will be Disney+ Hotstar's new India head[/caption] Why it matters: Disney+ Hotstar is probably the biggest streaming platform in India. It attained this position partly due to its rights to stream Indian Premier League until this year. The loss of IPL rights this year is likely to slow down subscriber growth which makes Sivanandan’s appointment a crucial one because he will be tasked with managing the platform’s journey without IPL. Who will Sivanandan report to: Sivanandan will take up the reins at the streamer in October and will have to report to Rebecca Campbell, Chairman of Disney’s International Content and Operations Group and K Madhavan, President, Disney Star. Sivanandan's responsibilities: He will be tasked with the following— Oversee Disney+ Hotstar’s overall business operations in India Define the streaming service’s strategic business priorities Chart a product roadmap for Disney+ Hotstar’s future growth. He will also be expected to work with local leadership in international markets as well as with the Disney+ team in the US. Coming back home: Sivanandan began his professional career…
