Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, June 2025 — Ferzad Palia has taken on the role of CEO – Direct-to-Consumer at upGrad, marking a strategic move by the edtech major to deepen its consumer-centric digital expansion. With over two decades of leadership experience across media and entertainment, Palia brings a proven track record of scaling digital businesses through innovative content, technology, and subscription-led strategies.
Prior to joining upGrad, Palia served as Senior EVP & Business Head at JioCinema, where he led India’s fastest-growing subscription business. Under his leadership, JioCinema’s SVOD service amassed nearly 20 million subscribers within six months of launch. He also played a key role in expanding the ad-supported entertainment service to over 250 million monthly active users, overseeing the platform’s entire Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) and B2B P&L operations, strategic partnerships, content programming, and analytics.
Palia’s journey before JioCinema includes an illustrious tenure of over 18 years at Viacom18 Media Private Limited, where he built and led several verticals. As Sr EVP & Head of SVOD & International Business, he launched Voot Select, which became India’s fastest-growing premium OTT service in 2020 and achieved break-even within two years. He was also instrumental in Viacom18’s foray into sports streaming, acquiring marquee rights like the FIFA World Cup.
Between 2012 and 2019, Palia headed the Youth, Music & English Entertainment cluster at Viacom18, leading to the launch of iconic channels such as Comedy Central India, COLORS Infinity, and MTV Beats. His content and marketing strategies propelled these channels to leadership positions, doubling viewership and revenue across digital and broadcast platforms.
Before his Viacom18 journey, Palia held senior roles at CNBC-TV18 and J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, managing strategy, planning, and key client accounts across sectors such as FMCG, aviation, and energy.
His appointment at upGrad reflects a continued focus on digital consumer growth and innovation in the edtech space, leveraging his vast expertise in building scalable D2C businesses in India.
upGrad
Founded in 2015, upGrad is a global pioneer in online education and lifelong learning. It caters to a wide demographic, from college students to mid-career professionals, across over 100 countries. With a learner base exceeding 3 million and partnerships with 300+ universities, upGrad delivers comprehensive education solutions ranging from undergraduate programs to executive MBAs and doctoral degrees. Its robust enterprise business serves more than 1,000 companies globally. upGrad’s global learning ecosystem is powered by original content, a proprietary tech platform, human-led services, and a strong focus on career outcomes.
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