American pay television network and flagship channel Discovery on Wednesday announced Anil Jhingan as its new president and managing director of Asia Pacific. He will be based in London and report to JB Perrette, president and CEO of Discovery streaming and international activities.

Jhingan will commence his role from November 1, as current regional head Simon Robinson steps away from the APAC business to lead integration planning activities in connection with the proposed WarnerMedia transaction.

In his new role, Jhingan will lead all of Discovery’s businesses across the Asia Pacific to drive further growth and diversification of a portfolio that today spans twelve office hubs across the region covering 52 markets, 25 channel brands in 18 languages, as well as the leading streaming service, discovery+, the company said in a statement.

Jhingan joined Discovery in 2019 as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, EMEA and APAC, and has over two decades of international media experience, including across the Asia Pacific.

His involvement has spanned both traditional TV and digital, pay-TV and free-to-air, content as well as distribution, and across all group business verticals.

Commenting on the appointment, JB Perrette, president and CEO, Discovery, said, “APAC remains a key growth driver for Discovery, and Anil’s deep industry experience, impressive international track record and strong leadership qualities, working with our expert local teams, will be central in building continued scale and differentiation in this critical region.”

Speaking on his new role, Anil Jhingan said, “The Asia Pacific offers immense opportunity for Discovery, with our focus on great local storytelling and ever-broadening distribution of our content to audiences across the region.”

Perette also thanked Robinson, “[Robinson] is an outstanding executive who, together with strong local leadership, has driven significant expansion in APAC, including the launch of Discovery Plus in India and the Philippines, as well as increased investment in local content and production,” he said.

Prior to Discovery, Jhingan served as Group Director of M&A and International Development for Sky, where he played key roles in its expansion.

Before this, he held various senior executive positions at Sky, 21st Century Fox and News Corp.