Indian American Megha Tolia Named First President and COO of Shonda Rhimes’ Television Company
- She will oversee operations including growth, strategic planning and finance at Shondaland which produced Netflix’s second most-watched original series, “Bridgerton.”
Indian American Megha Tolia has been appointed the first president and COO of Shondaland, a television production company founded by television writer and producer Shonda Rhimes. “In the newly created position, Tolia will oversee company operations including growth, strategic planning and finance,” reported Variety, adding that Tolia will report to Rhimes.
Tolia most recently was vice president of e-commerce and strategy for the lifestyle unit of SC Johnson. In that role, she oversaw brands such as Method, Mrs. Meyers, Babyganics and Ecover, news reports said, quoting a Shondaland press release.
“I am honored to join Shonda and her talented team,” Tolia said. “I’ve always been drawn to mission-centric companies and have been a believer in Shondaland for a long time. I look forward to helping the business maximize new opportunities and continue its fast pace of growth — all while staying true to our heritage of powerful storytelling.”
Shondaland was formed in 2005 and is under the umbrella of Rhimes’ deal at Netflix, which began in 2017 and was renewed earlier this year. Among the projects under the Shondaland banner is “Bridgerton,” which is Netflix’s second most-watched original series ever after “Squid Game.”
“Over the past few years, Shondaland has expanded into many new business areas while simultaneously growing the number of people working in each of our departments,” Rhimes said in a company statement. “Megha brings with her invaluable knowledge and experience to help Shondaland continue to successfully manage this growth while identifying new business opportunities and endeavors for the company.”
Tolia has previously worked at Neutrogena as a brand manager. She participated in Johnson & Johnson’s Marketing Leadership Development Program, where she was selected as one of six in the country to participate in a program focused on developing future leaders of J&J. Program spanned across two years with rotations in Marketing and Sales and in different operating companies, according to her LinkedIn page.
Tolia holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree from Harvard Business School. She is married to entrepreneur Nirav Tolia, co-founder and CEO of Nextdoor, the free and private social network for neighborhoods. The couple has three children and they live in California’s Bay Area.