JioHotstar, one of the world’s largest OTT (Over-The-Top) services, has made a decisive strategic move, appointing former Uber executive David Zakkam as its new Senior Vice President and Head of Analytics & Data Strategy.
The high-profile appointment follows Zakkam’s brief retirement earlier this year, highlighting the magnitude of the opportunity at JioHotstar to leverage data for market leadership.
Bringing Tech Giant Expertise to OTT
Zakkam is a veteran in the data science and analytics space, bringing over 21 years of experience from senior leadership roles at global technology powerhouses:
- Uber: Led the Data & Applied Science team in India, driving growth across mobility, delivery, and pioneered early applications of Generative AI.
- Meta: Managed large-scale integrity challenges, protecting millions of users.
- Swiggy: As VP of Analytics, he was instrumental in scaling high-impact decision systems and strengthening the company’s data culture.
The Data-Driven Future of JioHotstar
In his new role, Zakkam will be tasked with transforming analytics into a strategic advantage for the platform, which is in a critical phase of shaping its next decade of growth.
“In this role, David will partner with the business, content, marketing, ads, engineering, and product teams to find ways to unlock consumer and business value through data-driven decision-making,” said Bharath Ram, Chief Product Officer at JioStar, in an internal announcement.
Zakkam stated that the opportunity to build advanced data capabilities and address massive scale challenges drove his return from retirement. His core focus areas will be:
- Content Performance: Deepening understanding of what content drives engagement.
- Personalisation: Improving user experience through enhanced content recommendations.
- Revenue Growth: Supporting the growth of the platform’s revenue streams across India and international markets.
This hire underscores JioHotstar’s commitment to placing data science, machine learning, and AI at the core of its content, product, and monetization strategy as it navigates the competitive OTT landscape.
