Mumbai: Ajit Varghese has stepped down from his role as Head of Revenue, Entertainment and International at JioStar, the Reliance-Disney joint venture formed in November 2024, according to an internal memo shared with employees.
Varghese exits less than a year after assuming the high-profile position, which was tasked with driving monetisation across JioStar’s television, digital, and international platforms. His departure marks a key leadership change as the joint venture continues to consolidate its presence in India’s fast-evolving media and entertainment space.
As per media reports, Mahesh Shetty is expected to step into the role of Head of Revenue, Entertainment at JioStar. Shetty, who joined the company as Head of Client Engagement and Cross-Screen Leverage, brings over two decades of experience in media and sales. Prior to this, he served as Head of Network Sales at Viacom18, where he played a key role in scaling commercial partnerships and ad revenues.
Before JioStar, Ajit Varghese served as Head of Network Sales at Disney Star, overseeing revenue for both linear TV and digital platforms. He joined Disney Star in January 2023, following a prolific career spanning leadership roles across agencies, networks, and digital-first platforms.
Varghese’s journey began in 1999 at Madison World, where he led planning for Coca-Cola and later became Head of Business. As COO of Madison’s Infinity division from 2004, he drove 40% growth and brought on board marquee clients including McDonald’s, Marico, Asian Paints, and Axis Bank.
He joined WPP in 2006 as Managing Director of Maxus India, rising to become CEO of Maxus Asia Pacific in 2014 and Global President of Wavemaker in 2017, based out of London. At Wavemaker, he managed operations across 60+ countries and helped shape the agency’s global transformation agenda.
In 2020, he moved to ShareChat and Moj as Chief Commercial Officer, where he led monetisation, marketing, and creator economy strategies during a critical growth phase for the homegrown platforms.
Varghese’s next move is awaited with industry interest, given his legacy of driving growth and innovation across some of the biggest names in advertising, media, and digital.
