Rafe Offer - Speaker

Serial entrepreneur and authority in brand management and innovation, Rafe Offer is the Founder-Chair of Sofar Sounds, a music company promoting new bands globally. Before founding Sofar, Rafe held senior roles at major companies, including Global Marketing Director for Disney and Coca-Cola, and Director of Innovation at Diageo.

At Disney, Rafe led the team connecting Disney characters to teens and adults, creating the "having fun never goes out of style" campaign. During his four-year tenure, sales of adult merchandise grew from $50 million to $800 million worldwide. As global marketing director at Coca-Cola, he managed $1.2 billion in global sales. Later, as Director of Innovation at Diageo, he created an entrepreneurial business unit focused on new revenue sources and strengthening core brands.

In 2009, Rafe founded Sofar Sounds, combining his passion for live music with his brand management and innovation expertise. Sofar Sounds has grown from a London living room event into the world’s largest international network of live music events, raising $40 million in three funding rounds. The Guardian called it a "quiet revolution," and New York Magazine named it one of the top new brands in America.

After returning from daily operations at Sofar, Rafe continued creating meaningful start-ups. He founded this & that, a community and tech start-up focused on dialogue research and facilitation. He also serves on the board of Twenty Recruitment, a rapidly growing recruitment company.

Rafe is Chair of the board of Facing History UK, a charity dedicated to teaching historical lessons to combat racism. He is on the board of the Live Music Society, a charity supporting venues affected by COVID-19.