Kevin Vaz quits Disney Star; Senior level exits at the company continue
Storyboard18 had first reported on an exodus at Disney Star. After a recent string of resignations at its sports division, the company's entertainment arm has witnessed two senior level exits: reports.
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After a recent string of resignations at its sports division in March, Disney Star's entertainment arm has also witnessed two senior level exits.
Kevin Vaz, head – network entertainment channels, Disney Star, has put in his papers, as per an E4M report. He was elevated to this role in September 2021. Vaz was earlier the head of infotainment, kids and regional entertainment channels Star and Disney India. Prior to this, he was the chief executive officer - regional entertainment channels - STAR India.
Meanwhile, Arpita Menon, executive vice president and head partnerships and innovations, Disney Star had also resigned. She has spent close to 12 years with the broadcast company.
Storyboard18 has reached out to Disney Star for a statement on the development.
It is to be noted that in March this year, Storyboard18 reported about senior level exits at the country's leading broadcast network as its top management is on its way out. Highly placed sources told Storyboard18 about exits at the top level in the Star Sports team of the network. The exodus of sorts can be attributed to the massive restructuring exercise that Disney is undergoing globally which can have impact on its India operations. The restructuring exercise is aimed at reducing overhead costs and ultimately cutting jobs.
There have been high level exits at Disney Star last year as well. In April 2022, Nitin Bawankule, head - ad sales, Disney Star India, quit to join Amazon Web Services as director & head - Digital Native Business - India & South Asia at Amazon Web Services (AWS). His exit came close on the heels of the exit of Sunil Rayan, president, and Head of Disney+ Hotstar. Anil Jayraj, ad sales head of Star Sports, had quit to join as CEO of Viacom18’ sports business in 2021.
In February, The Walt Disney Company announced today that it will be restructuring into three core business segments – Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Parks, Experiences & Products – in a bid to reduce overhead costs and ultimately cut 7,000 jobs. Bob Iger, CEO, said the changes are set to begin immediately with a goal of cutting $5.5 billion from expenses overall; projections include a 50 percent reduction in marketing budget and 30 percent labour cuts.
