MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company (India) has appointed Manish Purohit as the head of their publishing business. The announcement was made by Disney India managing director Rajat Jain.

Purohit will be based in Mumbai and will report to Jain. In this role, he will shoulder the responsibility of strategic growth and expansion of the company’s publishing business in India. He will spearhead new product launches and also implement marketing and promotions program with a long-term vision in this business. Purohit will closely work with key retailers and licensees to increase the retail visibility of Disney’s publishing portfolio.

"The publishing industry in India is a multi-crore industry and has a phenomenal annual growth rate of 30 per cent. India is a priority market for the Walt Disney Company as part of its focus on global expansion. With focused efforts in the children’s retail and book space, Manish’s expertise and industry know-how will be crucial to our publishing business. I am certain that with his drive, our publishing business in India will optimise the brand’s presence in the market with a renewed consumer focus," said Jain.

Purohit comes to Walt Disney with 12 years of diverse work experience from the publishing industry. In his last assignment, he was heading the Indian subsidiary of Encyclopedia Britannica. He is credited with being one of the youngest head of a subsidiary company of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. In his earlier assignments he has also played important roles at Business Standard and The Times of India Group.