Star India's CEO Uday Shankar has been named Impact Person of the Decade 2014 for his contribution to the media and advertising industry over the last 10 years. Shankar received the award on Friday from Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao at an event attended by top media, marketing and advertising professionals.
Rao described Shankar’s journey from being a print journalist to heading a large media organization as “spectacular”, adding the Star CEO’s “agenda of driving social change through programmes like Satyamev Jayate has had a huge impact”.
“In a country where cricket is a religion, he has brought to the fore games like hockey and kabaddi and demonstrated how these games could also be popularised in a changing world,” Rao added. The award recognises the one individual who has made maximum and far-reaching impact on the media, marketing and advertising industry.
Accepting the award, Shankar said: “There is nothing more special than peer recognition. I consider myself a creation of this industry, and for this industry to recognise that I might have made some impact on the last decade fills me with a sense of both pride and gratitude.”
Shankar attributed his success at Star to his excellent team. "I think my success at Star and the success of Star India are results of not just an extremely talented team that I could put together but that this team collaborates with and compliments one another extremely well... my amazing team at Star has always rallied around to die for every single ridiculous plan that I have come up with," he said. "This recognition is yours!"
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who hosts social issues-based show 'Satyamev Jayate' congratulated Shankar in a recorded message. James Murdoch, Co-Chief Operating Officer, 21st Century Fox, said "Uday Shankar is really driven by a belief in communications, and a belief that media and storytelling can make a positive difference. We're enormously proud of Uday for being named the Impact Person of the Decade. It's a great honour for him -- one that he richly deserves. Star has always been a great innovator, and under Uday's leadership, it has taken that to new levels."