Brands
Charlotte Wolf Tarfa named Coca-Cola VP people & culture – India & Southwest Asia
Takes charge of people strategy across India and Southwest Asia
MUMBAI: Charlotte Wolf Tarfa has been appointed vice president, people and culture for India and Southwest Asia at The Coca-Cola Company, stepping into a role that sits at the heart of the beverage giant’s growth playbook for the region.
In her new position, Tarfa will lead the people strategy across India and Southwest Asia, aligning talent, culture and leadership development with the company’s long term ambitions. Her mandate also includes building diverse, skills based leadership pipelines to support the business as it scales.
Announcing the move, she said she was proud to take on the role and partner with teams across what she described as a dynamic region.
Tarfa brings more than a decade of global human resources and talent development experience to the post. She has spent over four years with Coca-Cola, most recently serving as vice president, global talent strategy and succession, where she worked closely with senior leadership to shape talent plans across more than 200 markets.
Before that, she held senior talent and development roles within the company’s global functions, supporting thousands of employees worldwide. Earlier in her career, she spent six years at InterContinental Hotels Group, where she led corporate learning, leadership development and HR business partnering for global teams.
With experience spanning talent strategy, organisational transformation and leadership development, Tarfa now takes on one of Coca-Cola’s most dynamic markets, where people and culture are expected to be as central to growth as the brand’s iconic red label.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
