Gazal Maheshwari joins Madison World as vice president after JioStar stint

MUMBAI: From selling screens to shaping strategies, Gazal Maheshwari is switching sides of the media table. She has joined Madison World as vice president, moving to the agency side after more than 17 years across media, sports, entertainment and digital.

Maheshwari announced the move on LinkedIn, describing it as an opportunity to view the media ecosystem from a different lens after years on the publisher side.

She joins Madison World from JioHotstar, where she was senior director, LCS digital sales, focused on FMCG, beverages and alcobev categories. In the role, she worked on strategic partnerships and revenue growth by developing solutions aimed at helping brands maximise reach, impact and return on investment.

Her association with the network goes back more than 15 years, including a long stint with Disney Star.

At Star Sports, Maheshwari held several sales leadership roles, most recently as associate director. She was category head for the West market, working across sectors including automobiles, telecom, alcobev, beverages, IT and logistics.

Her experience spans some of India’s biggest sporting properties, including the IPL, ICC World Cup, Premier League, Pro Kabaddi League and Wimbledon, across television and digital.

Earlier, as senior sales executive at Star Sports, she was involved in monetising international sporting properties including the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Formula 1 and tennis Grand Slams, besides domestic leagues such as the ISL and PKL. She was also part of the launch teams for the ISL and PKL.

Maheshwari began her career with Star India as a sales and marketing management trainee in 2009. She later spent a year at Altruist Technologies as assistant manager, product, before returning to Star’s sales operations.

Reflecting on the move, Maheshwari said shifting from the publisher side to the agency side would allow her to challenge some of her existing perspectives, learn new ways of thinking and apply her experience in a new context.

“Same industry. Different side of the table. A whole new perspective,” she said while announcing the appointment.

Maheshwari holds an MBA in marketing and communications from MICA Ahmedabad, which she completed between 2007 and 2009.

Her move comes as agencies increasingly look for executives with hands-on experience across media platforms, premium sports properties and brand partnerships. With Maheshwari bringing years of publisher-side experience to Madison World, the agency gains a leader who has spent much of her career on the other side of the advertising conversation.