Crowned as “Hollywood’s Brandfather,” Rohan Oza is a marketing wizard responsible for some of today’s biggest celebrity-backed endorsement deals. He’s worked with companies like Sprite, Mars, and Vitaminwater. Oza became more known as a frequent guest on ABC’s Shark Tank. Today, Rohan Oza has a net worth of $200 million.
Early Life
Rohan was born on October 2, 1971 in Livingstone, Zambia. His family is ethnic Indian and they relocated to London, where Rohan attended Harrow School. He went on to study industrial engineering and manufacturing at Nottingham University.
Rohan later decided that he was more of an entrepreneur. Oza relocated to the US to study corporate strategy and marketing at the University of Michigan and earned an MBA.
Career Beginnings
After university, Oza worked at Mars as the manufacturing manager for M&M’s. He later transferred to the marketing department, promoting Snickers across Europe. Based on his reputation, Oza was headhunted by The Coca-Cola Company, where he got his first big break.
He repopularized Sprite by making Kobe Bryant its spokesperson and providing an unlimited supply of the drink to various hip-hop DJs. He also worked on Powerade and gained similar success.
In 2002, he parted ways with Coca-Cola to join the energy brand Glacéau and served as the Chief Marketing Officer of its Vitaminwater. The entrepreneur managed to get 50 Cent on board by giving him a 10% equity stake. This deal sparked the infamous celebrity/equity model that the likes of Ryan Reynolds use today.
Further Success
With Rohan Oza’s expertise, Glacéau became profitable in a short period. In 2007, Glacéau was acquired by Coca Cola for $4.1 billion, and the Indian entrepreneur worked for the soft drink manufacturer once again.
In 2009, he left for the last time and became an early investor in another beverage company, Bai Brands. Rohan was instrumental in getting the Dr Pepper Snapple Group to acquire the business for $1.7 billion.
To further demonstrate his ability in the beverage industry, Rohan Oza joined Shark Tank as a recurring guest Shark. He began appearing on the show in season nine and was a breath of fresh air! The serial entrepreneur invested in Knife Aid, Qball and Poppi Beverage on Shark Tank.
Net Worth and Earnings
Apart from working with multinational giants, Rohan has helped other brands close deals with famous celebrities. He linked WTRMLN WTR to Beyoncé, popchips to Bruno Mars, Vita Coco to Madonna, and more.
Furthermore, he invested some of his wealth in companies such as Health-Ade Kombucha, Bulletproof Coffee, Chef’s Cut Real Jerky, Sir Kensington’s, and Smartwater. He is also an advisor to a Zambian non-profit organization called Impact Network. Currently, Oza’s wealth is valued at $200 million.
Personal Life
In 2019, Rohan revealed that he broke up with his girlfriend. Rumors point out that this was the sports nutritionist Sarah Hallock. Now, Rohan is married to Gyar Oza. The couple own two houses: one in Bridgehampton, New York, and one in Beverly Hills, California.
