Visible Figures - Volume #16
SVP on Mexico City & Expatriation, Boz Starts a Beauty Brand, Ghana's First Female VP, Queen Latifah Interviews Mellody Hobson.
Hello from CDMX 🌴 First visit, but certainly not my last. It’s a culture fit. What I love: the people are human, the dogs are bougie, the art is rich, the fashion is fierce, the food is flavorful, the Ubers are quick, and the natural beauty is interwoven in everything. Also, the president is Claudia Sheinbaum. Winning.
As Trump’s inauguration looms, a mere 20 days away, many of us are contemplating expatriation. With ~1.6M Americans currently living in Mexico, it is the number one destination for American immigrants, especially Black Americans. While it is absolutely lovely, personally, I’m not ready to #softLife move to Mexico. Grass is Grass. There’s work to be done. I choose to stay and work, sustainably.
“All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.”
― Octavia E. Butler
On December 18th @ 8PM ET we hosted our fourth Walk-Ins Welcome* on the topic of Preparing for Company Exit or Career Pivot. We had the privilege of a private, off the record conversation with exited founders and CEOs: Kellee James (Founder of Mercaris sold to Argus), Nathalie Walton (Co-Founder of Expectful sold to Babylist), Sevetri Wilson Taylor (Founder of Resilia), Romy Avila (former CEO of Tides), and Angel Rich (Founder & CEO of Credit Rich) who shared the news of the unique $100M funding round on a $1B valuation before it went public.
Here Are My Takeaways:
Exiting or pivoting (professionally or personally) is hard, even if deemed a success. Many of us weave our work into our identities. Detangling can lead to hair loss, literally and figuratively. There are graceful ways to do it: clear communication with stakeholders, financial runway, a therapist/coach, and/or a community of trusted peers and mentors.
A big THANK YOU to Visible Figures trustees, donors, members, and subscribers (especially those the paid ones😏) who made this all possible in 2024. It takes a village. We look forward to kicking it up a few notches in 2025!
What I’m Reading: The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center by Rhaina Cohen - This book (a gift) is timely as I have experienced several relationship changes in 2024 forcing me to reflect on the type of friend and lover I’ve been and aspire to be, outside the norms of heterosexual, monogamous, child-bearing relationships.
What I’m Watching (again): The Six Triple Eight on Netflix is based on a true story that all Americans should know. While I do not identify as a fan of Tyler Perry's writing (though I understand it), this was IMHO overall well done. The dynamism of Kerry Washington's performance exemplifies the struggle to protect, serve, and lead highly intelligent and capable Black women. The facet's of the parallel storylines culminate into a message that conveys the importance of gender, racial, religious, and political unity to get hard sh!t done.
Bye for now,
*Walk-Ins Welcome are monthly, expert-led, virtual AMAs open to Visible Figures members and paid subscribers
Things You Should Know 👀
Bozama “Boz” Saint John, former executive at Netflix, Uber, and Apple Music is giving the beauty business a go and I must say, this feels right.
I met Boz in 2018 via my investor, Reshma Sajuani, and we’ve crossed paths several times in Accra. I love that part of her supply chain is in Ghana. Production is a pathway to true independence. 🗝️
Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has become Ghana’s first female Vice President. 👸🏾
Opoku-Agyemang has been a professor of English literature, author, Minster of Education, and UNESCO representative. I particular appreciate her diasporic work during the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery and the Harriet Tubman Series on the African Diaspora. Gay rights, please, Madame Vice President. 🙏🏾
Watch Queen Latifah banter with Mellody Hobson at the Economic Club of Chicago like long-time friends (who summer together in Italy).
Mellody is a great storyteller. I used to sample clips from her Color Brave TED Talk (2014) in my pitches, but back then most people had no clue who she was. No mas. Mellody is officially multi-hyphenate. Check out her new children’s book on financial literacy: Priceless Facts About Money
Welcome New Members ⭐
Deneen Donnley - SVP & General Counsel (Con Edison), Board Director (M1), former Chief Legal Officer (USAA), former General Counsel (ING), The Wharton School (BS Economics, Marketing, and Organizational Development), Fordham University (JD)
Adrienne Sheares - Founder & Principal (VivaMae Labs), Senior Social Media Strategist (AARP, Discovery Education, Accenture), Spelman College (BA Women Studies, English), The Johns Hopkins University (MA Communication)
Miki Clayton - Founder & Principal (S P A C E), former Director of HR (Fund for Global Rights), Senior Consultant (Smart HR, HR for Nonprofit), Howard University (BA Business Administration), Trinity Washington University (MA Organizational Development)
Upcoming Events 📅
Our 2nd Annual Winter Retreat (see last year) will take place again alongside the world renowned NBS Black Summit in Keystone, CO 02.26 - 03.01.2024. For Members Only.
A Number to Remember 👇🏾
Percentage of all Black women in the U.S. who are in the process of starting or running a new business, compared to 10% of white men and 15% of white women. In 2017, Black women owned over 19% of all women-owned businesses—above their proportional representation within the U.S. population. (Brookings, May 2023)