The winner of Miss India USA is now the one, who is responsible for the content we binge-watch on
Our Bureau
Los Gatos, CA
Bela Bajaria was appointed the Chief Content Officer of Netflix in January 2023. Previously, she was Head of Global TV and VP of Content, managing the content streamed across Europe, the Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, India, Asia, and South America like ‘La Casa de Papel’, ‘The Witcher’ and Emmy® winner ‘Squid Game’. Bejaria has been conferred with many honors including THR’s Women in Entertainment list, Variety’s LA Women’s Impact Report, TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022, and Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
She moved to US as an 8 – year-old from London. “In the late seventies, my parents came here to chase the big American dream. They opened car washes and I worked with them over weekends. Having grown up around that environment has instilled a great sense of responsibility,” says Bajaria.
And she not only values these life lessons but credits them for her success. “I didn’t realise it until many years later when I was at CBS, Universal and now at Netflix, I run everything like it’s my own business. These are all my mini car washes, just in a very large corporation,” she laughs.
While studying at university, Bajaria entered the Miss India California pageant, which led to her successes as Miss India USA and Miss India Universe in 1991.
Indian American Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer at Netflix is one of the “Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women of 2023’, a list that “spotlights a dynamic array of leaders ……..marking significant strides in women’s global impact.” Forbes says that this year’s list, “while highlighting women’s advancements, poses critical questions about the state of their power.”
