Latest news with #2025ChangemakersSummit
NDTV
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Netflix Executive Bela Bajaria Says Getting Publicly Fired Was Her "Greatest Learning"
Quick Take Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Bela Bajaria reflected on her firing from Universal Television. She calls the experience her greatest learning lesson in her career. Under her, Netflix expanded significantly into live programming. Netflix's Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria, has opened up about a difficult chapter in her career, calling it her "greatest learning lesson." Speaking at the 2025 Changemakers Summit in Los Angeles, Ms Bajaria reflected on being fired from her role as president of Universal Television, a setback that, in hindsight, shaped her journey. Before her remarkable nine-year run at Netflix, where she has overseen the streaming giant's expansion into live events and sports, Ms Bajaria faced what she described as a "big public failure." Despite building a strong comedy lineup at Universal with creators like Tina Fey and Mike Schur, she was dismissed from the network, an experience she now credits teaching her resilience. "There's all this talk about failure being important, and you learn from it, and that's true. But when you fail, nobody wants to talk about it," Ms Bajaria said in conversation with CNBC. She pointed out the added pressure women face, noting that dismissals often carry stigma. "We're supposed to be perfect. A dismissal is seen as a blemish," she said. Ms Bajaria admitted the first few months were painful, as she struggled to separate her self-worth from her job title. But the overwhelming support and job offers she received soon after helped her see the value in her work. "The way I treated people, what I had done - it all mattered," she said. Looking back, she said the experience has been freeing. "I'm not scared of getting fired. It's very liberating, actually." Under Ms Bajaria's leadership, Netflix has strengthened its position as a go-to destination for live programming, from comedy specials and award shows to WWE events and NFL games.
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Netflix's content chief calls her public firing a turning point: ‘Not scared of getting fired. It's very liberating'
Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, has played a pivotal role in the company's evolution over the past nine years, leading its expansion into live events, sports, and shaping globally successful originals like Bridgerton and Emily in Paris. But long before her rise at the streaming giant, she faced a setback that she now describes as one of her greatest learning experiences, reported CNBC. Before joining Netflix in 2016, Bajaria was fired from her role as president of Universal Television.(Raajessh Kashyap/HT) Before joining Netflix in 2016, Bajaria was fired from her role as president of Universal Television after five years marked by strong creative achievements, including forging partnerships with celebrated talents like Tina Fey and Mike Schur. Also read: China's 'most beautiful fugitive' banned from social media for posting anti-fraud videos 'Big public failure' Speaking at the 2025 Changemakers Summit in Los Angeles, she called the experience a 'big public failure,' but emphasized how much it taught her. 'There's amazing books and quotes and all this stuff about [how] you learn so much from failure, and failure is important, and you're not trying hard enough if you're not failing,' Bajaria said in conversation with CNBC's Julia Boorstin. 'And all of that is true, but then when you fail, nobody wants to talk about it.' She noted that the pressure to be flawless often stops women from acknowledging setbacks. 'We're supposed to be perfect,' she said, adding that being fired is seen as 'a blemish.' The months following her dismissal were particularly difficult. Bajaria struggled with the emotional fallout and began questioning her worth. 'All those amazing shows, all these great relationships I built; I treated people so fairly. We had a lot of success — it meant nothing,' she recalled thinking. However, the response she received from colleagues and the industry shifted her perspective. 'I quickly realised, as the phone rang and I got job offers and everybody reached out and people were really supportive, it all mattered,' she said. 'The way I treated people, what I had done, the impact I left, it all mattered.' She took comfort in knowing she could be proud of her past work. 'I knew I could always look at myself in the mirror and [think] I liked what I had done. I didn't have any shame around what I did. I thought it was really a great, successful run,' she added. While Bajaria acknowledged that 'the first three months were really rough,' she now views the experience differently. 'In retrospect I am so grateful that it happened,' she said. 'I'm not scared of getting fired. It's very liberating, actually.' Under her leadership, Netflix has expanded its content offerings to include major live events like comedy specials, award shows, WWE programming, and even NFL games. The platform also dominated last year's awards season, earning 107 nominations across 35 projects, the highest for any studio at both the Oscars and the Emmys. Also read: Airline under fire after mistakenly serving white wine to 3-year-old in business class
CNBC
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Netflix executive says getting publicly fired was 'the greatest learning lesson': 'I am so grateful that it happened'
Bela Bajaria has had an incredible nine-year run at Netflix. She joined in 2016 to oversee unscripted and scripted series, led the streaming giant's push into live events and sports, and worked her way up to becoming the company's chief content officer. But before then, she has what she calls a "big public failure" which turned out to be "the greatest learning lesson": She was fired from her job as president of Universal Television after a five-year tenure and big accomplishments, including building a strong comedy roster with top creators like Tina Fey and Mike Schur. "There's amazing books and quotes and all this stuff about [how] you learn so much from failure, and failure is important, and you're not trying hard enough if you're not failing," Bajaria told CNBC's Julia Boorstin at the recent 2025 Changemakers Summit in Los Angeles. "And all of that is true, but then when you fail, nobody wants to talk about it." There's plenty of gendered stigma that keep women from discussing their firings, Bajaria added, "because we're supposed to be perfect" and a dismissal is "a blemish." The first few months after her firing were especially tough, she said. She found it hard to separate her personal identity with her professional status and she wondered if the hard work she put into her career was worthwhile. Bajaria recalled thinking: "All those amazing shows, all these great relationships I built; I treated people so fairly. We had a lot of success — it meant nothing." The actual response to her firing challenged that, she said. "I quickly realized, as the phone rang and I got job offers, and everybody reached out, and people were really supportive — it all mattered. The way I treated people, what I had done, the impact I left — it all mattered," Bajaria said. "I knew I could always look at myself in the mirror and [think] I liked what I had done. I didn't have any shame around what I did. I thought it was really a great, successful run," she added. Bajaria was quick to note that coming to terms with her firing, and finding the upside of it, is easier after nearly a decade of distance. "The first three months were really rough," she said. "In retrospect I am so grateful that it happened," Bajaria said. "I'm not scared of getting fired. It's very liberating, actually." Under Bajaria's leadership, Netflix has become a destination to watch live events including comedy specials, awards shows, WWE programming and NFL games. Netflix films and series like "Bridgerton" and "Emily in Paris" have become global phenomena and boosted economies by hiring massive crews and encouraging tourism to the shows' settings. Last year, Netflix received the most nominations for a single studio at both the Oscars and the Emmys with 107 nominations across 35 series, TV movies and specials.
