Google India will now be led by former Star and Disney India head Sanjay Gupta

• Sanjay Gupta is the new country manager and vice president of sales and operations for Google India.
• His appointment comes after Rajan Anandan, the VP for Google South East Asia and India, resigned in April.
• Gupta is leaving his Star and Disney India’s managing director position to lead Google.

Google India has snagged Disney India’s former head, Sanjay Gupta as its new country manager and VP of sales and operations.

“I am delighted to take on the challenge of leading and shaping Google’s charter in India. It is an exciting opportunity to leverage the power of technology to solve some of India’s unique challenges and make Internet an engine of economic growth for people and communities,” said Gupta.

Gupta will take over his role at Google early next year.

Rajan Anandan, the VP for Google South East Asia and India, resigned in April this year. Anandan was replaced by Vikas Agnihotri, country director of sales who took on the role of Google India’s interim MD.

Gupta had earlier worked with top companies like Hindustan Unilever and Bharti Airtel. His most recent stint was as the MD of Star and Disney India, where he also led the digital evolution of Hotstar.

The IIM Kolkata-graduate was also an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering.

“We are excited to combine Sanjay’s expertise, experience and leadership with our teams and build further on our existing efforts in this highly dynamic, competitive and exciting digital economy, looking to build a more helpful and inclusive Internet for everyone in India,” Scott Beaumont, President of APAC, Google said.