Happy birthday Sanjay Gupta: Charting the journey of innovation and influence

Sanjay Gupta, the President of Google Asia Pacific, marked another milestone as he celebrated his birthday on Sunday, September 8. With a career spanning over three decades, Sanjay has been a pivotal figure in the tech industry, particularly in shaping the digital landscape across the Asia-Pacific region. His leadership at Google has been instrumental in driving innovation, expanding market reach, and building a culture of inclusivity and collaboration within the company. Sanjay's strategic vision has not only helped Google maintain its dominance in the region but has also enabled the company to navigate the complexities of diverse markets with agility and foresight.

In July 2024, Sanjay Gupta was promoted as the President - Asia Pacific for Google, replacing Scott Beaumont. Prior to this, Gupta was the Country Manager - India for Google. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Gupta has worked with organisations like Star India, Bharti Airtel, and Hindustan Unilever.

Sanjay joined Google in early 2020 with a stellar career that spans nearly three decades across the sunrise sectors like media and entertainment, telecom and FMCG industry giving him deep understanding of India’s diverse consumer and business landscape.

Before Google, Sanjay was Managing Director of Star and Disney India where he played a pivotal role in extending Star’s traditional television content to digital consumers through Hotstar. He is also widely credited for building their sports business through acquisition of rights for marquee content for events like the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gupta has also expanded traditional television content to digital platforms through Hotstar and overseeing the adoption of HD channels. He has been instrumental in curating Hotstar.

Sanjay began his career at Hindustan Unilever, where he went onto lead marketing for two of the company's critical segments: Oral and Home care. He then moved to serve as Bharti Airtel’s Chief Marketing Officer for its mobile business, spearheading the growth agenda for the company.

Earlier, Sanjay Gupta had won the exchange4media Influencer of the Year Award 2019 for being instrumental in driving Star’s growth. He was responsible for curating strategy and vision in entertainment, sports, digital and studios. 

Sanjay is a postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kolkata, and is an engineer from Delhi College of Engineering.