Maheshwari had joined the company in 2012 as VP and head of corporate strategy & business development. He was given additional charge of the consumer products business in 2014 and in April this year, Media Networks business, which consists of all Disney Channels in India, was also added to Maheshwari’s portfolio.

In his new role, Maheshwari will now be responsible for all of Disney’s businesses and report in to Mahesh Samat, who was recently named EVP and & MD of Walt Disney International, South Asia.

ET was first to report on August 26 last year that Maheshwari is most likely to head Disney’s India business, post the exit of the then MD Siddharth Roy Kapur.

However, the company brought back its old hand, Samat, to stabilise Disney’s India operations.

“It is a privilege to lead Disney India and I am greatly encouraged by the talent, passion and commitment of our teams across the organisation. Together, our team will focus on bringing the best of Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars and our home grown brands of Hungama, bindass and UTV to Indian audiences and provide great consumer experiences across all our businesses,” Maheshwari said.

Prior to working for The Walt Disney Company, Maheshwari worked for Kubera and McKinsey & Company at its US and India offices.

“Disney brands continue to grow across platforms and consumer segments in India,” said Samat. “Abhishek is an astute and transformative business leader. Since joining the company, he has championed and driven strategic changes that have positioned our businesses to achieve consistent significant growth.”

Recently, India was merged under a South Asian hub integrating Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, under Samat’s leadership.