Day: February 9, 2022

MUMBAI, India and DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Lupa Systems Founder and CEO James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, the former Chairman and CEO of Star India and the former President of Walt Disney Asia Pacific, announced today they are forming a new venture, “Bodhi Tree,” an investment platform that will be financially supported by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This new venture is designed to invest in media and consumer technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on India.

Bodhi Tree will leverage technology to provide disruptive solutions that drive transformational outcomes in sectors with deep consumer engagement – including media, education and healthcare – to positively impact millions of consumers across the region. Bodhi Tree will be investing at scale to achieve these outcomes.

The newly formed venture will be run by Murdoch and Shankar as co-chairs, combining decades of experience influencing the region’s media landscape and emerging consumers. QIA will be committing up to $US1.5 billion in Bodhi Tree’s vision being pursued by Murdoch and Shankar.

“We are very pleased to announce Bodhi Tree,” Messrs Murdoch and Shankar said. “Opportunities abound to scale exciting businesses in India and the broader Southeast Asia region. Our continued focus on investing and building relationships in these regions comes from our deep conviction in the long-term growth of these economies and the incredible power of these consumers, as these sectors are transformed by technology.”

QIA CEO Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud said: “QIA is proud to play a key role in bringing Bodhi Tree to reality. QIA is investing in the technology and media space and India is a key market for us. QIA looks forward to backing Bodhi Tree as they drive forward their growth plans in the future.”

About Bodhi Tree
Bodhi Tree is a strategic partnership designed to invest in consumer technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on India. The entity will be run by Murdoch and Shankar as co-chairs.

About Lupa
Lupa Systems is a private holding company founded in 2019 by James Murdoch, the former CEO of 21st Century Fox, Sky plc, and STAR. The company has offices in New York and Mumbai. Collectively, the Lupa team has extensive experience building and scaling businesses across the globe in multiple industries. Lupa focuses on companies within the technology and media industries, impact-driven companies focused on environmental sustainability, and emerging markets, particularly within the Indo-Pacific region.

About James R. Murdoch (Founder & CEO)
James Murdoch is an investor and philanthropist. After more than two decades of global leadership in the media and technology industries, James Murdoch founded Lupa Systems as a private holding company. Mr. Murdoch most recently served as CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019; previously he served as 21st Century Fox Co-COO, Chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia. Prior to his time at 21st Century Fox, Mr. Murdoch was the CEO and Chairman of Sky, and CEO of STAR TV. He is a Director of Tesla, the Dia Art Foundation, and Vice-Chair of the Center for New American Security. James and his wife, Kathryn Murdoch, are founders of Quadrivium, a foundation that invests in democracy reform, technology and society, scientific awareness, and climate and ocean health issues.

About Uday Shankar
Uday Shankar left Disney on December 31, 2020 and announced that he will be moving to an entrepreneurial career where, with funding from global investors, he would support founders to create transformational solutions.  A journalist by training, Uday led and transformed television: he took over as CEO of Star India in 2007 and transformed the company’s broadcast operations and made Star India one of the biggest media and entertainment companies in Asia.  He subsequently led 21^st Century Fox’s operations throughout Asia.  Uday was appointed President of Walt Disney Asia Pacific when the Walt Disney Company acquired 21^st Century Fox. Under his leadership, Star launched Hotstar – now Disney+ Hotstar –one of the most successful streaming services globally.  Uday currently serves as the President of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). 

About Qatar Investment Authority
Qatar Investment Authority (“QIA”) is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. QIA was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state reserve funds. QIA is among the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds globally. QIA invests across a wide range of asset classes and regions as well as in partnership with leading institutions around the world to build a global and diversified investment portfolio with a long-term perspective that can deliver sustainable returns and contribute to the prosperity of the State of Qatar.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1743314/Unknown_Logo.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1743315/QIA_LOGO_Logo.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1743316/Screen_Shot_2022_02_09_at_9_28_04_AM_Logo.jpg

Fresha was rated the top salon software in 2022. The booking system came out on top in all three rating categories for: Most popular salon software; free salon software and most user-friendly salon software.

The acquisition of Bookwell marks a new phase in London based Fresha’s continued successful growth story, adding to the platform’s extensive base of over 60,000 partner salons and spas primarily spanning the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Bookwell was founded in 2017 by EatNow founders Matt Dyer and Nathan Airey and have signed up over 5K salons in Australia. Following their first start-up success, Bookwell was set up as a matchmaking engine for Australian beauty and wellness service providers to fill empty appointment slots with customers in their area.

“From my first meeting with William, Fresha’s founder and CEO, I believed in his vision, energy and passion. By helping beauty and wellness businesses grow sales with tools to facilitate online payments, self-service bookings, and automated marketing, Fresha provides the perfect opportunity to enhance Bookwell’s offering,” says Matt Dyer, Founder and CEO of Bookwell. “We are thrilled to be joining forces with Fresha, the global leader in the beauty and wellness industry.”

The Fresha platform is used across 120 countries globally, with tens of millions of appointments booked each month, and nearly $15 billion in value of appointments bookings processed to date. Fresha’s focus on building easy-to-use, subscription-free software underpinned by a strong word-of-mouth effect has helped the company build a loyal customer base. Fresha’s partner businesses rely on the platform for its ease of use, time-saving benefits, and embedded features to grow their sales, with end users enjoying a premium booking and payment experience.

“Bookwell’s progress in Australia is commendable, the team have built a strong business model helping salons and therapists save thousands each year on marketing to fill empty appointments” says Founder and CEO William Zeqiri. “There is a natural synergy with Fresha’s own online marketplace and Bookwell’s partner base, who now have the opportunity to benefit from our market leading software including dedicated payments system and marketing tools, all accessed under one roof. Together we are helping our partners make more money, save time and get paid more easily.”

About Fresha

Fresha is a leading global salon and spa software. Each month, tens of millions of appointments are discovered, booked and paid with partner salons, spas and barbershops on Fresha. Approximately 60,000 partner venues in over 120 countries use the platform to manage their operations with Fresha’s intuitive, full-spectrum, subscription-free business software. Fresha transforms beauty and wellness business operations by enabling the acceptance of online appointment bookings, processing of card payments and managing customer records, along with automations for marketing, staffing, product inventory and accounting, all in one place. Launched in 2015 originally under the name Shedul, the company rebranded to Fresha in 2020. For more information, visit www.fresha.com, download Fresha on the App Store and Google Play or follow Fresha on Facebook and Instagram.

About Bookwell

Bookwell is an Australian platform for venues in the beauty, health, and wellness industry, enabling them to grow their business, save time and spend less money.  Bookwell provides salon software for venues to manage their business and an online marketplace where customers can book their appointments in an instant. 80,000+ Australians access the marketplace bookwell.com.au every week to book from over 700 venue partners.

Bookwell was founded by Matthew Dyer and Nathan Airey in 2017. Backed by Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, founders of catch.com.au and Adam Schwab and Jeremy Same founders of luxuryescapes.com.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build market-leading businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1743307/Fresha_top_salon_software.jpg