Gazal Maheshwari joins Madison World as Vice President

MUMBAI: Gazal Maheshwari is changing sides in the media sales game. Maheshwari has joined Madison World as Vice President, moving on from JioStar after more than 15 years with the broadcaster and nearly 17 years in the media industry.

Maheshwari was most recently Senior Director – LCS Digital Sales at JioHotstar, where she handled digital sales across categories including FMCG, beverages and alcobev. Her role focused on building strategic partnerships and driving revenue through solutions designed to improve reach, impact and return on investment for brands.

Her move to Madison World comes after a long association with the Star network, where she held several sales roles across television and digital. She joined Star India as a sales and marketing management trainee in June 2009, before moving to an assistant manager – product role at Altruist Technologies in January 2010. She returned to the Star fold in April 2011, joining the ad sales team for Star Jalsha and Jalsha Movies.

Maheshwari moved to Star Sports in January 2014 as Senior Sales Executive, where she worked on monetising major international sporting properties including the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Formula 1, Wimbledon, Australian Open and French Open, alongside domestic properties such as the ISL and Pro Kabaddi League.

She was also part of the launch teams for the ISL and PKL, while managing brands including Maruti, Airtel, Coca-Cola, Samsung, LG, GSK, Reckitt and Pernod Ricard.

In July 2017, Maheshwari became Assistant Sales Manager at Star Sports, taking on revenue and execution responsibilities for cricket and non-cricket properties. She was part of the core sales team for IPL 2018, the first edition of the tournament broadcast on the Star Sports network, with responsibility for 50 per cent of the West market and clients across television and digital.

She subsequently served as Sales Manager from July 2019 to October 2021, handling major cricket properties including the IPL, ICC World Cup and India bilateral and multilateral tournaments. She was promoted to Senior Sales Manager in October 2021, managing key clients across Maharashtra and Gujarat.

In May 2023, she took on the role of Associate Director – Star Sports, where she led the West category portfolio across sectors such as auto, telecom, alcobev and beverages. She worked on brand solutions around marquee properties including the IPL, ICC World Cup, Pro Kabaddi League, Premier League and Wimbledon.

Maheshwari moved to JioHotstar in July 2024 as Senior Director – LCS Digital Sales, taking charge of digital sales for FMCG, beverages and alcobev categories before joining Madison World in August 2026.

Across her career, her expertise has centred on revenue generation, business development and building brand value for clients across television and digital platforms.

Maheshwari holds an MBA in Marketing and Communications from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, where she studied from 2007 to 2009 and ranked among the top five in her batch. She also completed a strategic account management programme at SP Jain School of Global Management in 2015.

Her appointment adds another senior media sales professional to Madison World’s leadership bench, while marking a significant shift for Maheshwari after a career largely shaped by the Star ecosystem and its transition into JioStar.