Lupa Systems CEO James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, the former Chairman and CEO of Star India and President of Walt Disney Asia Pacific, announced that they are forming a new venture to explore technology and media opportunities in emerging markets.
The new partnership reunites Murdoch and Shankar, who worked together building Star India into the region’s largest media company, prior to its sale as part of the merger of 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company. Star now reaches 600m+ viewers every week and operates Hotstar, Asia’s leading OTT platform.
James Murdoch worked as a chief executive officer in 21st Century Fox for more than 3 years, he was the CEO and Chairman of Sky, and CEO of STAR TV. He is also a Director of Tesla, the Dia Art Foundation, and a member of many boards, including CNAS, currently he is the founder of Lupa System. Whereas, Uday Shankar left Disney on December 31, 2020, and announced that he will be moving to an entrepreneurial career where, with funding from global investors, he would support founders to create transformational solutions. A journalist by training, Uday led and transformed television: he took over as CEO of Star India in 2007 and transformed the company’s broadcast operations, and made Star India one of the biggest media and entertainment companies in Asia.
On the new partnership James Murdoch said, “After two decades of working in India and the region, at Star and more recently at Lupa Systems, it’s great to be entering into a renewed partnership with Uday. Our collaborations over the years have been immensely rewarding for consumers, our various shareholders, and our colleagues. I’m very pleased to be renewing that partnership now. As connectivity continues to accelerate and expand across South Asia and the whole region, new opportunities for innovation, across consumer sectors, will multiply,”
“James and I enjoyed a great partnership at Star and I am enormously excited to be in partnership with him again. At Star, we had the great benefit of working with the best and brightest Indian talent, combined with global vision and a desire to disrupt the old order. Digital Technology promises to transform the lives of many millions of people in this part of the world and I have every confidence that we can harness technology, enterprise, and tremendous talent to create a great business that is also great for society,” said Uday Shakar.
