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KFC and Pizza Hut operator appoints Manish Dawar as CEO
GURUGRAM: Devyani International, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in India, has picked Manish Dawar as its next chief executive, handing the keys to its finance head at a testing moment for the business.
Dawar, cfo since 2021, will take charge from April 1, replacing Viraj Joshi, who shifts to a non-executive director role. The move keeps the succession in-house and signals a preference for financial discipline over flashy expansion.
The finance seat will not stay empty for long. Anupam Kumar, currently executive vice president – finance, is set to become cfo, completing a tightly managed shuffle at the top.
The backdrop is less than cosy. The company recently posted a sharp rise in quarterly losses, underlining pressure on margins in India’s crowded quick-service restaurant market, where discounting and delivery costs gnaw at profits.
At the same time, Devyani is swinging big on scale, announcing a $934m merger with Sapphire Foods, another major franchisee in the sector. The deal aims to bulk up store count, boost bargaining power and squeeze efficiencies from procurement to logistics.
Investors will be watching whether a numbers man in the corner office can steady earnings while digesting a large merger. In India’s fast-food wars, growth is easy to order; profits are harder to serve.
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JioHotstar EVP, head subscriptions (SVOD) and media Piyush Kothari exits
Streaming executive signs off after 6.5-year run across DisneyStar and JioStar
MUMBAI: Piyush Kothari, EVP and head subscriptions (SVOD) and media at JioHotstar, has stepped down from his role, bringing the curtain down on a 6.5-year stint spanning the DisneyStar and JioStar eras.
Kothari shared the update in a note reflecting on what he called a “transformative” phase for the media industry and a personal journey through the fast-evolving world of streaming and sports entertainment.
“The last few years have been transformative for the media industry and experiencing this journey up close over the past 6.5 years with DisneyStar and now JioStar has been a thriller,” he wrote, thanking colleagues and collaborators who shaped his time in the business.
Kothari joined JioHotstar in November 2024 as EVP, head subscriptions (svod) and media, where he oversaw subscription revenues and subscriber growth for the platform’s svod business.
Before that, he spent over five years at The Walt Disney Company in a series of leadership roles. His last position there was head of product, growth, partnerships and international expansion for Disney+ Hotstar, where he led efforts to scale subscription revenues across direct to consumer and partnership channels. The role also involved overseeing the service’s standalone businesses in markets such as Singapore, Canada and the UK.
Earlier, he served as lead, corporate office and strategic projects, working across the company’s entertainment, sports and streaming businesses. He also headed business operations at Mashal Sports, the entity behind the Pro Kabaddi League, where he helped steer the league through key commercial milestones including a five year broadcast and streaming media rights deal.
Alongside his operational roles, Kothari also served as nominee director on the board of Mashal Sports and was a director on the board of Novi Digital, the company that operates Hotstar.
Before entering the media and entertainment space, Kothari held senior roles across consulting, fintech and conglomerates. He worked with Welspun Group as head, group executive office, with Aditya Birla Group as joint president and business head, digital, analytics and strategy at Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank, and earlier served as vice president in the chairman’s office at the group.
His career also includes stints at Accenture as principal, Accenture Strategy, and earlier at Shell in channel development and sales.
Reflecting on his time in the media sector, Kothari said he leaves with a lasting belief in India’s subscription economy. He also joked about picking up a new affection along the way.
“Carrying with me love for kabaddi, a deep belief in the potential of the subscriptions business in India, and fond memories and friendships,” he wrote, adding that he is now “onward to the next chapter”.
