NEW DELHI: Uday Shankar, who recently stepped down as president, The Walt Disney Company APAC and chairman, Star & Disney India, effective as of December 31, has been named president-elect, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), for the year 2020-21.
Shankar will be succeeding Dr Sangita Reddy, president, FICCI, and joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group during FICCI’s 93rd AGM on 11, 12 & 14 December.
Shankar’s appointment makes him the first-ever media and entertainment executive in India to lead a national industry chamber.
In addition to his leadership at Disney and Star, Shankar has played a key role in shaping the growth trajectory of the media and entertainment sector in India, to benefit industry stakeholders as well as consumers. He has been at the forefront of landmark initiatives in television broadcasting, such as self-regulation of content and digitization of the broadcasting sector.
He has earlier been the president of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), and has served as FICCI vice-president as well as chairman of FICCI’s Media and Entertainment Committee.
It is worth noting that at the time Shankar’s resignation from Star & Disney was officially announced, it was stated that the media and entertainment veteran was moving on to pursue an entrepreneurial career wherein he would “support and mentor India’s young minds to create transformational solutions with funding from global investors”.
A trained journalist, Shankar also pioneered the development of the television news ecosystem in India. Prior to Star India, he was the CEO and Editor of Star News, the country’s first 24-hour news channel. He has also been the Editor and News Director at TV Today Group, where he spearheaded the launch of Aaj Tak in 2000 and Headlines Today in 2003. Shankar holds an MPhil in Economic History from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
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