Mumbai: After a stint of 13 years of service, Disney Star head of HR for APAC and India Amita Maheshwari has decided to leave to join an organisation outside of media space.
In an internal memo issued on Monday, Disney Star's country manager of India and regional head of APAC Luke Kang, confirmed this development in the company.
Maheshwari joined Star India in 2009 as a member of the core management team led by then-CEO Uday Shankar, which led to a strong business performance and YOY growth of more than tenfold over ten years.
She diversified and upgraded Star's talent pool across the organisation, ensuring her consistent effort to drive organisational growth by defining the right HR and talent strategy, attracting the best and most diverse talent, building strong HR systems, and creating innovative HR solutions with a perfect blend of technology, many of which were industry firsts. Maheshwari's unwavering dedication to Disney and Star has raised the bar for HR and talent in the company and industry.
She was promoted to HR Head of Disney across APAC and India following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in March 2019. She led the integration and transitions of Disney and Fox organisations across the region, effectively managing tremendous change while keeping employees at the centre.
Maheshwari's played a key role in attracting critical senior talent and making Star the talent powerhouse it is today. She has also established very strong DE&I practises in the country. She managed some key transitions and acquisitions in India, including Sports, Maa TV, MediaPro, and Star CJ, to name a few.
Some of the company's key initiatives, including the launches of Disney+ Hotstar and Disney+ across APAC and India in multiple markets, have been led by Maheshwari.
In 2021, Economic Times named her "HR Leader of the Year."
With close to 28 years of experience encompassing senior leadership positions across various industries, Maheshwari has seamlessly and successfully managed many mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and transitions globally. Prior to Star, Maheshwari has worked in diverse organisations such as Asian Paints, GE Capital, Genpact, and MetLife India Insurance.
