Bala first joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1994 as the Finance Manager at Canners in Pinetown, Durban and progressed to Group Accounting Manager at Coca-Cola Canners in 1996. His career in Canners spanned four-and-half-years, whereafter he was appointed to the position of Division Controller at the CCSA Division Headquarters in 1999. In this role, Bala was instrumental in evolving the CCSA Finance Function to incorporate the Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa Division, which consisted of 28 countries in the Division.

He became Division Finance Director in 2003 for the then Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa Division, and had functional responsibility for the newly-formed Shared Financial Service Centre for Africa. He continues to hold the position of Finance Director for Coca Cola South Africa.

Bala currently serves as a Director on the Board of Coca-Cola Canners and Coca-Cola South Africa.

Bala has worked in the Durban, Bophuthatswana and, currently, the Johannesburg area. He has over 34 years of work experience in the finance field, having worked in the sugar Industry for Huletts and Hultrans, Nestle SA in Pietermaritzburg, Durban Metro and Agricor in Bophuthatswana.

He has a B.Com Degree in Economics and Accounting from University of South Africa, and a MBA from the University of Wales.