Dream11 CEO Harsh Jain To Be New Chief Of Internet Lobby As Big Tech Faces Backlash

The changes are a result of an internal election that were held amid backlash from Indian tech entrepreneurs.

Harsh Jain, CEO and Co-Founder, Dream11. (Source: Company)

Dream Sports Chief Executive Officer Harsh Jain has been appointed as the new chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, a top tech advocacy group, replacing Big Tech names that are facing a backlash.

Jain has replaced Sanjay Gupta, vice president and country manager at Google India.

Other top Indian startup and tech executive names that will be a part of the four-member executive council are Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group chief executive officer of MakeMyTrip, and Satyan Gajwani, vice chairman of Times Internet.

Magow and Gajwani have been elected vice chairman and treasurer of the association, respectively. Magow will be replacing Shivnath Thukral, the director of public policy for Meta in India and South Asia, and Gajwani will be replacing Razorpay's Harshil Mathur.

The council will be in power for a two-year term, from 2023 to 2025.

The changes are a result of an internal election that was held amid backlash from Indian tech entrepreneurs. The IAMAI has been accused of being "anti-Indian" and being a mouthpiece for foreign Big Tech in India.

The IAMAI is acting "on behalf of the interests of foreign companies", said Rohan Verma, chief executive officer at MapMyIndia.com, which is building a product that competes with Google Maps.

"Foreign companies are certainly welcomed and appreciated in India, but know that it is your privilege to have access to the Indian market and that you definitely don't have a right to plunder India," he had written.

Anupam Mittal, a Shark Tank investor and CEO of People Group, echoed his views. Mittal was also the first chairperson of the IAMAI in 2006–2007.

Alongside the four-member council, a new 24-member governing council will also take charge.

  • Harsh Jain, Dream 11 - Chairman, IAMAI

  • Rajesh Magow, Makemytrip - Vice Chairman, IAMAI

  • Satyan Gajwani, Times Internet - Treasurer, IAMAI

  • Ajay Kaushal, Billdesk

  • Alok Mittal, Indifi

  • Aloke Bajpai, Ixigo

  • Anant Goenka, Indian Express

  • Anupam Mittal, People Interactive

  • Ashish Kashyap, IndMoney

  • Chintan Thakkar, Info Edge

  • Dinesh Agarwal, IndiaMart

  • Harshil Mathur, Razorpay

  • J Murugavel, Matrimony.com

  • Jitendra Gupta, Jupiter

  • Miten Sampat, Cred

  • Naveen Kukreja, Paisa Bazaar

  • Neeraj Roy, Hungama

  • Nitish Mittersain, Nazara

  • Rajendra Nalam, Paytm

  • Ritesh Malik, Innov8

  • Rohan Verma, MapmyIndia

  • Sameer Nigam, PhonePe

  • Upasana Taku, Mobikwik

  • Vishwas Patel, Infibeam Avenues

As many as 83 members of the IAMAI contested the elections this year following the end of the two-year tenure of the previous council. 

Also Read: Dream11’s Parent Raises $400 Million In Secondary Investment

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WRITTEN BY
Rishabh Bhatnagar
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