Our Voices, Our Hopes #BlackLivesMatter

Being the great, great granddaughter of  Frederick Douglass, the nineteenth century social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman. has been a vibrant part of Maria Weaver’s family legacy for many generations. If she could “channel” her famous ancestor during this time of social upheaval, he would tell everyone to vote, says Weaver, CMO of Comcast […]

From his early days at Conde Nast, to the adtech world of PubMatic, to his present senior post at AT&T, he’s “always been alone.”  The feeling has been most acute at industry events, which somehow appear “unfamiliar,”explains Kirk McDonald, Chief Business Officer of AT&T’s Xandr unit.* Fully qualified, he often saw himself as an “imposter” […]

Getting a meeting with venture investors for Black entrepreneurs is nearly impossible. The venture community is “exclusionary, leaving us at a disadvantage,” says Donnovan Andrews, a media entrepreneur in this interview with Beet.TV While some businesses need outside funding, he urges Black founders to first build a sustainable business model. Andrews is the founder and […]

Of all the work we’ve done over the past 14, years, the nearly 8,000 videos we’ve produced, nothing has been as consequential as our Black Lives Matter series, titled Our Voices Our Hopes.. I am grateful to Kirk McDonald and my other dear friends, along with so many new acquaintances, for having spoken so candidly […]

Being under represented in the advertising business can lead women of color to think “they don’t belong.”  This kind of thinking can make them be their “worst enemy,” says veteran advertising executive Stephanie Geno, in this in interview with Beet.TV “Networking is hard for everyone,” especially for black woman who feel out place.  Even though […]

Being one of a relatively small number of Black senior executives in the AdTech industry has been “exhausting,” says  Kerel Cooper, SVP Global Marketing at LiveIntent. The relentless effort to fit in, to “code switch,” into a person who fits the workplace norms results in losing “bits of yourself,” he adds in this interview with […]

When people say that they don’t notice color in the workplace, it’s simply not true. But that’s fine.  Being identified as a Black man in a leadership position in a major media organization and mentoring others, is a good thing, says Brian Norris, SVP of Advertising Sales at NBCUniversal. Norris, who heads the direct-to-consumer sales […]

Diversity in the workplace is an imperative but it has to happen in the context of the wider issues of racial separation in our society, says Sean Robertson, a veteran of the advertising and media industry who is Director of Partnerships at DISH. We need to understand our differences and celebrate them.  Galvanized by recent […]

The daily stress of “putting on a mask” or “code switching,”  the process of changing one’s Black mannerisms to conform to a largely white working environment, is unnecessary, says Monique Nelson, Chair CEO of  UWG, a leading multicultural advertising agency, in this video interview with Beet.TV Be your “beautiful,” authentic self, she urges young Black […]

SAN FRANCISCO – Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a given.  And, it needs to be expanded and amplified. But a healthy work “experience” is essential, particularly for Black men and women dealing with the realities of racism in society and the current turmoil.   A “safe space” for dialogue is important. Empathy and understanding […]

For this young Black woman, the road to a prominent post as product manager at Comscore, started with a pivotal diversity fellowship at ABC TV during her college years.   But is wasn’t easy:  She felt ostracized by her peers but yet she insisted that her voice be heard.  She learned from senior executives who mentored […]

The workplace environment for Black women is hard: many find a lack of constructive feedback, resources and mentorship. Many see a pay disparity and place where  their “voices and ideas” are suppressed” and where c-level job track progression is slow, says Kelle Coleman, SVP Brand Partnerships, Nielsen, in this video interview with Beet.TV Notwithstanding, the […]

While he says that his colleagues have been supportive of his work,  he and others Black executives carry the weight of not being able to fail.   “We have to be perfect,” says Cavel Khan, Chief Revenue Officer of Tumblr, in this interview with Beet.TV A veteran of Vice, Twitter and Microsoft, earlier this month Khan […]

Diversity is not about token gestures, it has to be more:  it has to be woven into everyday decisions, says Alvin Bowles, Vice President, Global Marketing Partnerships at Facebook, in this interview with Beet.TV We spoke with him about his journey from Detroit to Wall Street to Silicon Valley and how mentors have helped shape […]

SAN FRANCISCO – The number of  black women in Silicon Valley is small.  For some, it means suffering through racial stereotyping – not being able to fully be themselves, explains Kenya Hayes, a veteran Valley executive, now head of comms for North America at AppsFlyer, in this interview with Beet.TV Wanting to be productive, but […]

“I play the game, we all do.” For many blacks in the adtech workplace, there is an ever present imperative to “code switch,” says Christian Borges, SVP of Marketing at true[X], in this interview with Beet.TV He explains that means changing how “we speak, act and even how we walk.”  He says it’s exhausting and […]

Having been mostly silent over the past 10 years about his experiences with racial discrimination and police abuse, Andre Swanston, CEO and co-founder of over-the-top data marketplace Tru Optik, has shared many of these with his colleagues in a personal letter, and here, in this interview with Beet.TV Like many young black men, Swanston has […]