Uday Shankar

Mr. Uday Shankar, director at Marigold Park, is a highly successful and globally recognized Indian executive who created one of the biggest media and entertainment businesses in the Asia-Pacific region. In his new avatar, Mr. Shankar is a technology entrepreneur and is partnering with James Murdoch to set up technology-led enterprises. He currently also serves as the Immediate Past President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Indias premier industry association, and was formerly the President of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). Mr. Shankar has served in several leadership roles including as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Star India, President of 21st Century Fox Asia, and more recently President of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific Chairman of Disney Star India. Under his leadership, Star transformed into the regions leading company placed distinctively at the intersection of media, entertainment and technology. He is credited with leading the streaming and OTT revolution in India and in the APAC region. Hotstar is now a leading global OTT. Star Sports transformed into Asias leading sports network during his tenure. He also led the companys strong foray into regional and local language content, building a comprehensive consumer offering across entertainment and sports. Mr. Shankar started his career in news and is widely regarded as the pioneer of television news revolution in India with the launch of Aaj Tak, Star News and whats now known as India Today TV. Mr. Shankar has been a key contributor to shaping the Indian media and entertainment sector, championing important reforms such as digitization of the distribution ecosystem and self-regulation of content. Mr. Shankar serves on the boards of global non-profit Malaria No More, and on the boards of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Business Standard. He also serves as an Advisor to the board of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). Mr. Shankar has been awarded numerous business and industry honours. He was conferred the honorary doctorate degree by Bennett University (The Times of India Group). He was recognized by Forbes India as the Best CEO (MNC), named Entrepreneur of the Year (Entrepreneurial CEO) by EY, and has featured in Indian Express 100 Most Powerful Indians and in India Todays 50 Most Powerful People in India. Mr. Shankar has completed his Masters in Philosophy and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Honours from Jawaharlal Nehru University.