News Broadcasting
Star appoints Michelle Guthrie as CEO
MUMBAI: Star Group announced a new CEO this morning: Michelle Guthrie who was earlier executive vice president of Regional Distribution and Business Development for Star. She will be stepping into the shoes of chairman and CEO James Murdoch who was recently appointed to head BSkyB in the UK.
Guthrie is believed to have a great understanding of the pay TV business. Her key responsibility earlier was to identify and explore business opportunities for the company. She also oversees the distribution of Star channels for the South East Asia region.
Announcing her appointment, News Corp’s chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch was quoted in a company release as saying, “Michelle is one of a handful of people in Asia with over a decade of truly in-depth pay television experience. With her business acumen, sharp sense for new opportunities, her strong ability to run diverse operations and enthusiasm for the TV business, I am confident that she will take Star’s business to the next level of growth and profitability.”
Outgoing chairman and CEO of Star James Murdoch also said,”I have every confidence that Michelle will be a dynamic and energetic leader for Star. I wish Michelle and all my former colleagues the utmost success.”
Guthrie joined Star in June 2000. Prior to that, she was Director of Legal and Business Affairs at Foxtel, Australia’s leading subscription television provider, which is 25 percent owned by News Corp. She had responsibility of all legal and business development functions of Foxtel.
Before Foxtel, Guthrie was corporate counsel in London for News International and British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), the premier digital satellite television service in the UK and 36 per cent owned by News Corp.
Guthrie joined News Corp in 1994 from Allen, Allen and Hemsley, an Australia law firm. She worked as a lawyer in both the Sydney and Singapore offices of Allens.
She takes up her assignment at a time when Star’s India operations are extremely profitable and China is beginning to show profitability. Her challenge will be to drive the company further into these markets and steer it into DTH, and pure pay TV plays with higher subscription revenues.
Talking about her post, Guthrie said, “I am very excited to be given this opportunity to steer the company to its next phase of growth. Over the last three and a half years, I have had the chance to work closely with James and all my colleagues as Star strengthened its position as the industry leader. I am looking forward to continue working with such a strong team.”
Insiders aver that Star TV’s first woman CEO may more than prove to be up to the task.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 to spotlight India’s global rise
PM Modi keynotes two-day event on 27–28 February in New Delhi with ministers, diplomats and icons.
MUMBAI: India’s rise isn’t just making headlines, it’s headlining its own summit, and this time the guest list reads like a global power playlist. News18 Network will host the Rising Bharat Summit 2026, a high-powered thought-leadership forum anchored around the theme “Spotlighting Bharat’s Rise: Driven by Strength Within.” The two-day event kicks off on 27 February 2026 at 10:00 AM in New Delhi, bringing together policymakers, diplomats, business leaders, strategists, innovators, and cultural icons for conversations that aim to define India’s confident, self-assured role on the world stage.
Prime minister Narendra Modi will deliver the keynote address, setting the tone for discussions on economic momentum, geopolitical positioning, and long-term aspirations for the decade ahead.
The ministerial lineup includes Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry), Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & IT), Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (Communications & Development of North Eastern Region), and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta.
Global diplomacy and strategic voices feature former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo, ex-UK Chief of defence staff general Sir Nick Carter, former US commerce secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, and ambassadors from Norway (May-Elin Stener), Germany (Philipp Ackermann), and Sweden (Jan Thesleff).
Industry, innovation, and economic perspectives come from veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems Founder & CEO Dr Vishal Sikka, and Deeptech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
Defence, technology, and thought leadership include Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar, Apple expert Patrick McGee, military aviation historian Tom Cooper, and defence scholar Adrian Fontanellaz.
Culture, sports, and popular influence bring actor-MP Kangana Ranaut, Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PR Sreejesh, cricketers Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Mithali Raj, plus film stars Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
Broadcast live across News18 Network channels, CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, and streaming platforms from 10:00 am on both days, the summit aims to move beyond headlines and shape deeper narratives around policy, leadership, and innovation at a decisive moment for India’s global trajectory.
In a world watching Bharat’s next moves, this gathering isn’t just talk, it’s the opening scene of a story that’s already rewriting the script.
