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The Walt Disney has named Morgan Stanley executive James Gorman as its next chairman. He will take on the role early next year, with Disney also announcing that it will name its new chief executive in early 2026. 

Gorman will become chairman on January 2 2025, succeeding Mark Parker, who is leaving after serving on Disney’s board for nine years. The incoming chairman is currently chair of Disney’s succession planning committee. He serves as executive chairman at Morgan Stanley, but will be stepping down from that post at the end of the year.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger said, “The Disney board has benefited tremendously from James Gorman’s expertise and guidance, and we are lucky to have him as our next chairman – particularly as the Board continues to move forward with the succession process.”

“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026,” Gorman said in a statement provided by Disney. “This timing reflects the progress the succession planning committee and the board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026.”

The issue of CEO succession at Disney was a flash point in the protracted proxy fight launched by activist investor Nelson Peltz, who alleged Disney’s board failed to do its job with respect to CEO succession planning in not vetting former parks boss Bob Chapek, who was Iger’s personal pick to take over the job in 2020. The board ousted Chapek in November 2022 and Iger returned as CEO. Peltz ultimately lost his bid to shake up Disney’s board (seeking seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo) and earlier this year reportedly sold all his Disney shares.

Gorman said, “I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve as Disney’s chairman at this important moment in the company’s history. In the short time I have had the opportunity to work with Mark, I have come to appreciate and deeply respect his authentic leadership, humility and intelligence. I know all directors join me in saying we have been honored to serve with him as the chairman of the board.”

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2006, Gorman held executive positions at Merrill Lynch and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. He serves as a director of the Council on Foreign Relations, chair of the board of overseers of the Columbia Business School, and is a member of the Business Council. 

Gorman formerly served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, president of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, and co-chairman of the business committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Disney names James Gorman as next Chairman, will take charge in 2025

The Disney Star’s anti-piracy team recently trained Dubai police and law enforcement agencies on combating content piracy in the region. Sources have indicated that the team will also train law enforcement agencies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Digital video piracy results in revenue losses ranging from $40 to $97 billion for the global film industry. The losses for the global television industry are estimated to be between $40 billion and $95 billion. The Indian entertainment sector experiences an annual revenue loss of approximately $2.8 billion due to digital piracy, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

On September 19, Storyboard18 reported that Disney Star India has taken its fight against piracy to the international level by conducting an operation to raid a suspected rogue Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provider in Dubai. The raid led to the seizure of multiple IPTV boxes containing 12,000 pirated premium channels and content from various rights holders.

The illegal sale of these IPTV boxes undermines the principles of broadcast licensing and negatively affects the fees broadcasters pay for sports and entertainment rights.

A source close to the development said, “We have noticed that a majority of the pirates in these regions are from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The content they illegally distribute belongs to multiple rights holders. The team recently trained the Dubai police officers and other law enforcement agencies.” 

The source claimed that Disney’s anti-piracy team will meet with law enforcement agencies in GCC countries in phases to train them on anti-piracy laws and the methods used by notorious content pirates. The idea is to not only spread awareness but to also build a network for swift crackdown on notorious pirates. Moreover, the Disney Star's anti-piracy team is closely monitoring two notorious content pirates operating in India and MENA region. 

In November 2023, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that the film industry faces losses of up to Rs 20,000 crore every year due to piracy. The MIB also established an institutional mechanism of Nodal Officers to receive complaints against piracy and direct intermediaries to remove pirated content from digital platforms.

Earlier, in June 2024, the Ahmedabad Police, along with Disney Star's anti-piracy team led by Major Ashok Yadav, dismantled a network of illegal streaming websites broadcasting ICC T20 World Cup matches. This operation led to the shutdown of platforms like magicwin.games and magicwin.com, which were not only streaming live cricket matches but also promoting illegal betting activities.

Disney Star trains Dubai Police, will expand anti-piracy drive in GCC countries

The Modi government has approved the transfer of licenses relating to non-news and current affairs TV channels held by Viacom18Media in favor of Star India Private Limited. In February this year, RIL-owned Viacom 18 Media and US-based The Walt Disney Company-owned Star India had announced the merger to create a Joint Venture.

In its regulatory filing, Reliance Industries informed the stock exchanges that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Government of India, vide its order dated September 27, 2024, has granted its approval for transfer of Licenses relating to Non News & Current Affairs TV channels held by Viacom18 Media Private Limited. 
“This in favour of Star India Private Limited subject to conditions laid by Competition Commission of India.”

RIL, Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company (Disney) signed the binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India. As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited through a court approved scheme of arrangement.

The transaction valued the JV at Rs 70,352 crore and RIL had agreed to invest at closing Rs 11,500 crore (approximately USD 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth strategy.
The merger had got approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in August with few observations.


Huge win for Reliance, Modi govt approves transfer of License from Viacom18 to Star India

Disney Star India has taken its fight against piracy to the international stage. The Dubai police recently raided the operations of an alleged rogue Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provider. The raid resulted in the seizure of IPTV boxes containing 12,000 pirated premium channels and content from various rightsholders.

According to sources, Disney Star filed a criminal complaint in Dubai against a rogue IPTV provider, primeproott.com, which was selling IPTV boxes through its website. The complaint states that the rogue operator charged Rs 5,750 for the box and Rs 2,300 for access to the application.

Dubai police conducted the raid on September 16, 2024, leading to the seizure of the IPTV boxes and the arrest of the pirate. The illegal sale of these IPTV boxes undermines the principles of broadcast licensing and negatively impacts the fees broadcasters pay for sports and entertainment rights.

The Disney Star's anti piracy team is currently in Dubai for further such crackdowns and is closely working with law enforcement agencies to tackle piracy in the MENA region. The arrested accused is considered as one of the notorious individual involved in distribution of pirated content to large number of users. The Dubai police is also investigating if other individuals are also linked to the case. 

A source privy to the details of the case told Storyboard18, "Following the police raid, the website has been taken down. Such actions by Dubai police are highly commendable as they will deter others from engaging in content piracy."

Earlier, in June 2024, the Ahmedabad Police, along with Disney Star's anti-piracy team led by Major Ashok Yadav, dismantled a network of illegal streaming websites broadcasting ICC T20 World Cup matches. This operation resulted in the shutdown of platforms like magicwin.games and magicwin.com, which were not only streaming live cricket matches but also promoting illegal betting activities.

Breaking: Major IPTV piracy ring busted in Dubai following Disney Star complaint

Varsha Ojha

Previous: Head of Marketing and Digital, Radio City and Mid-Day

Present: Head of Marketing and Communications, Shemaroo

Varsha Ojha recently replaced Rahul Mishra—Head - Web3.0 Initiatives—as media player Shemaroo Entertainment’s head of marketing. Ojha, who comes with two decades of experience in the field of media, will be responsible for driving every aspect of brand strategy and digital of Shemaroo in her new role.

Rohit Suri

Previous: Chief Human Resources Officer, Dentsu International

Present: Head of Talent, Netflix India

Dentsu International’s former chief human resources officer, Rohit Suri, whose stint lasted for 10 months, made a move to Netflix India as the head of talent for the streaming giant . He will report to Sergio Ezama, chief human resource officer of Netflix India.

Saibal Biswas

Previous: Vice President, Marketing and Growth, International markets - Disney + Hotstar

Present: Head of Marketing, MediBuddy

Saibal Biswas has joined MediBuddy, a cashless healthcare provider, as the head of marketing. His new role will see him play a key part in the leadership team and spearhead the marketing efforts at MediBuddy and drive growth as the company expands its footprints at a pan India level. At Disney+Hotstar, Biswas was instrumental in building brand awareness for Hotstar amongst the Indian diaspora.

Tom Thomas

Previous: CMS IT Services, Aujas Cybersecurity, and HCL Technologies

Present: Head of Marketing and Branding, Equiniti

British outsourcing financial and administrative services business, Equiniti (EQ) recently appointed Tom Thomas as the head of marketing and branding for the India operations. Thomas will lead EQ India’s branding push and he will also head the operations team that supports EQ’s global marketing.

Rakesh Raju

Previous: Senior Group Brand Manager, Cavinkare

Present: Director, Brand Marketing, upGrad

Rakesh Raju joined online higher education platform upGrad as the director of brand marketing. At Cavinkare, he led the haircare portfolio and the e-commerce business. Along with that, he was involved in building new products in the personal care category.

Arghya Chakravarty

Previous: Executive Vice President - Ad Sales, Entertainment Business, Disney Star India.

Present: Not known

Arghya Chakravarty who served as an executive vice president at Disney Star India and looked after ad sales and entertainment business has put in his papers. His next move remains unknown and as per his LinkedIn profile, he will be on a two-week break. He has also been a part of PepsiCo India as the executive director - sales, beverages.

Amrutha Nair

Previous: SVP - Product and Revenue Strategy, Regional, Kids, Infotainment and Youth, Disney Star India

Present: Head - Ad sales – Hindi and English Entertainment, and SVP - Product and Revenue Strategy, Regional, Kids, Infotainment and Youth, Disney 
Star India

Amrutha Nair, who served as the senior vice president - product and revenue strategy, regional, kids, infotainment and youth at Disney Star India, has been elevated to head the ad sales for Hindi and English entertainment. She takes over from Arghya Chakravarty, who recently quit.

Ankur Garg

Previous: Group Creative Director, Dentsu Impact

Present: Not known

Ankur Garg, who served as the group creative director at Dentsu Impact, creative arm of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has decided to move on. Garg was associated with the agency for a decade and started his career with the agency as a creative supervisor, working his way up to senior creative director before taking up the mandate of being the group creative director. He comes with an experience of more than 16 years in advertising.


Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy

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DISNEY STAR INDIA