Mumbai: QYOU Media Inc., operating in India and the United States has announced the appointment of digital leader and strategist, Raj Mishra, as Group CEO of QYOU Media’s India operations overseeing all business units, with immediate effect. Mishra will focus on increasing operational and financial synergies and strengths among the three primary business units as the company further pivots in India into digital distribution and direct-to-consumer initiatives.
Raj Mishra was appointed to QYOU’s board of directors on 30 May 2023 and brings a strong track record of driving business growth and profitability in the mobile, media, and entertainment sectors. With over 13 years of experience and a background that includes senior management roles in building some of the most successful app businesses in Indian market history, Mishra specializes in go-to-market strategies, sales, marketing, business growth, and profit and loss management in India's evolving social media landscape.
Mishra's career highlights include his instrumental role as the first employee at Musical.ly in India (now TikTok), leading it to over 60 million monthly active users. As the country head for both Musical.ly and later for TikTok following their acquisition, he fostered growth for ByteDance in India, established local teams, cultivated business partnerships, and nurtured the creator community. Under his leadership, Musical.ly became the most downloaded app on Android and iOS app stores. He subsequently oversaw the rebranding transition from Musical.ly to TikTok after its acquisition in 2017 wherein it became quickly established among the most downloaded apps in India with 610 million downloads in India alone in less than three years representing over a quarter of all global downloads. In 2019, he took on a new challenge within ByteDance where he was spearheading strategy for their newly launched suite of products, including the app Helo while closely working with the core global teams at ByteDance to help further strengthen their overall go-to-market strategy. Following that experience, Mishra joined Triller as the country GM and India head, laying the foundation for its expansion in India and the Asia-Pacific region. Most recently, Mishra was consulting for a number of digital and gaming companies including QYOU’s India business units, where he provides strategic and revenue generation strategies and tactics for growth.
QYOU Media CEO and co-founder, Curt Marvis commented, “We are thrilled to have Raj on board to direct the next phase of growth for our businesses in India. Working with him as a consultant to QYOU India over the last several months, it became clear to me and the Board that his skill set and experience were directly applicable to our overall business objective to become a larger brand with more direct to consumer initiatives in India. This includes our most recent launch of the new freemium version of Q GamesMela. In addition, Raj’s understanding and knowledge of how the creator economy works, as a result of his roles at both Musical.ly and TikTok are invaluable for us as we build a creator-centric brand and business. His appointment to oversee our entire operation in India launches a very exciting new chapter in our history.”
Speaking on the appointment, Raj Mishra added, “I joined the board of QYOU Media because I was excited about the size and scope of the opportunity for which they have already built the foundation. In working directly with the business since that time, I now know that the potential is even greater than I had first realized. There is a tremendous amount of hard work, coordination and execution ahead and we have only scratched the surface of what is possible for QYOU. I have shared with Curt and the Board my thoughts on how I see the business unfolding and expanding in the coming years. I can’t wait to get deeper into working with the executive management and employees at all the business units and to help QYOU raise the India business to a level of success we all know is possible.”
QYOU Media business units in India include QYOU Media India which includes the broadcast and CTV channels, the influencer marketing business Chtrbox Technologies and Maxamtech Digital Ventures’ gaming business.
