iWorld
Disney+Hotstar appoints Shalini Poddar as EVP & head of ad sales
Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar has appointed Shalini Poddar as executive vice president and head of ad sales. Poddar replaced Gulshan Verma who had quit the streaming service in July to join Jio Ads as chief executive officer.
At Disney+Hotstar, Poddar will lead ad sales revenue and strategy for the service in India and lead a team of 140 across all aspects of the ads business from business planning, sales, sales strategy including pricing and format, revenue management, operations, data partnerships, programmatic, brand lab, measurement/RoI and customer marketing.
She was previously associated with Google as head of business development, Google Play Apps, India, Southeast Asia and Australia. She had joined Google in March 2016 as industry manager for telecom, gaming and payments. In a career spanning 17 years, she has had stints at Accenture Management Consulting and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
She completed her graduation from Delhi University and is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
eNews
Piyush Thakur steps down as Inshorts’ chief revenue officer
Former vice president and cro says exit marks a new chapter after close to a decade of building revenue and partnerships at Inshorts Group.
NOIDA: Piyush Thakur has stepped away from Inshorts Group after nearly 10 years with the company, marking the end of a long tenure that culminated in his role as chief revenue officer.
In a farewell note, Thakur said he was “turning a new page” after almost a decade at Inshorts, calling it one of the hardest professional decisions he has made. He added that his exit was not driven by uncertainty about the future, but by reflection on a long association with the company.
Thakur joined Inshorts in October 2016 as vice president and spent around seven years in the role before being elevated to chief revenue officer in April 2024, a position he held until April 2026.
He said his tenure was defined by “thousands of mornings, late nights, product debates and breakthrough moments”, as the company evolved into a large-scale digital news platform used by millions.
In his note, Thakur emphasised that Inshorts’ growth was a collective effort across teams, adding that engineers, designers, sales teams and customer support staff all contributed to building the platform. He said the company’s success was not the result of individuals but of “everyone who stayed, passed through, and left their mark”.
Before Inshorts, Thakur worked across several digital media and business development roles. At ESPN, he served as senior regional manager from October 2015 to October 2016, focusing on growth initiatives, strategic opportunities and video distribution.
At Times Internet, he worked for nearly three years, including as head of business development from April 2015 to September 2015 and chief manager from January 2013 to March 2015. His responsibilities included monetisation of mobile platforms, managing media and developer partnerships, and driving revenue across digital properties such as The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Earlier, he worked at Brandmovers as head of business development from June 2012 to June 2013, handling digital, mobile and social media marketing solutions, client development and strategic consulting. During this period, he also worked on advertising revenue, brand strategy and CRM-based solutions.
At Inshorts, Thakur’s role focused on revenue strategy, mobile and media partnerships, and growth initiatives across platforms. His profile highlights experience in mobile product management, digital business models, partner ecosystems and revenue expansion in high-growth environments.
