The Coca-Cola Company announced that Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer for Netflix Inc., has been elected as a director.
Bajaria’s election is effective immediately and brings the Coca-Cola board to 12 directors.
As Chief Content Officer, Bajaria oversees all television and film for Netflix in all languages. She manages a content budget of about $17 billion annually and reports to co-CEO Ted Sarandos. She sits on the company’s leadership team.
“Bela brings a wealth of experience in global business, from building and leading teams to setting strategy,” said James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “Her deep background in media also promises to provide our board and leadership with valuable perspective as Coca-Cola continues to evolve and strengthen its marketing model.”
Bajaria has been instrumental in programming award-winning films and series and has also spearheaded Netflix’s expansion into live programming. As Chief Content Officer, she forged a groundbreaking, long-term partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment, ensuring that its flagship weekly program, “Raw,” is available to Netflix members worldwide. She secured rights to NFL Christmas Day games for Netflix for the next three years, marking another significant milestone.
Prior to her current role, Bajaria served as head of Global TV for Netflix, leading English and local-language scripted and unscripted series around the world, such as “Squid Game,” “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Bridgerton,” “La Casa de Papel” and “Cobra Kai.” She joined Netflix in 2016.
Prior to Netflix, Bajaria held senior roles at CBS Entertainment and NBCUniversal. At CBS, she served as Senior Vice President and led the cable studio for the company. At NBCUniversal, Bajaria was President of Universal Television, where she helped revive the major television studio that had been shuttered years before.
Bajaria, 53, was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022 and was on Fortune’s Powerful Women list for the last five years, among many other honors.
