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Once a symbol of affordable indulgence and community gathering, Red Lobster has weathered years of financial turbulence, leadership turnover, and changing consumer habits. Now, emerging from bankruptcy, the iconic seafood chain is charting a comeback under the leadership of Damola Adamolekun, a 36-year-old Nigerian-born executive whose career has been defined by turning crises into opportunities, according to CBS News. From Finance To Food Before stepping into the restaurant industry, Adamolekun built his foundation in high-stakes finance at Goldman Sachs and TPG Capital, reports Fortune. That analytical rigor has shaped his turnaround philosophy to be data-driven, fast-moving, and people-focused. “When you’re in a distressed situation, you can’t waste months trying to figure out what to do,” he told Fortune, emphasizing speed and decisiveness as central to Red Lobster’s recovery. His prior success at P.F. Chang’s, where he became the first Black CEO and guided the company back to...
Sean Tresvant stepped into a historic role on Jan. 1, 2024, becoming Taco Bell’s first Black CEO. His appointment marked more than just a leadership change. It represented a new chapter for a brand that has consistently positioned itself at the intersection of food, culture, and innovation. For Tresvant, it is the culmination of a career filled with lessons that prepared him to lead one of the world’s most recognizable restaurant brands. From Seattle Roots To Global Leadership Tresvant’s story begins in Seattle, where sports and family shaped his early values. He played basketball at Washington State University and later returned to Seattle University for his MBA. His career did not follow a straight line. He started in sales at Campbell Soup, learning the fundamentals of business at the ground level. From there, he held roles at Pepsi and Sports Illustrated, each experience sharpening his understanding of branding and consumer behavior. At the Albers Executive Speaker Series,...
Golde’s co-founder and CEO Trinity Mouzon Wofford’s entrepreneurial path has always been about calling shots on her own terms. Whether it be daringly reaching out to fellow entrepreneurs or standing firm in letting her brand grow naturally, she always goes with her gut. While her initial decision to not take venture capital wasn’t one that she describes as being backed by consciousness, it’s a move that demonstrates how trusting the process can be just as effective. As a young Black female CEO a part of a group that isn’t typically embraced by investors, the way her business unfolded ultimately worked in her favor. Not having to focus on the ins and out of the investing world allowed her to flip the narrative on its head of the effects of someone of her background being shut out of the space. It’s following the beat of her own drum that has landed Golde in the stores of big-name retailers such as Sephora and Target. View this post on Instagram A post shared by GOLDE (@golde)...
Earlier last week, the unprecedented announcement of Black Girls Code CEO and founder Kimberly Bryant being removed as the nonprofit’s head came in as a shock to the tech community. Kimberly Bryant alerted the public about the breaking news with a “press release” on Twitter. “Press release: So it’s 3 days before Christmas and you wake up to discover the organization YOU created and built from the ground up has been taken away by a rogue board with no notification,” Bryant wrote via Twitter. Press release: so it’s 3 days before Christmas and you wake up to discover the organization YOU created and built from the ground up has been taken away by a rogue board with no notification. VC: @BlackGirlsCode — kimberlybryant.eth (@6Gems) December 21, 2021 The tweet caused an uproar from her counterparts and followers who wanted to learn more details of the indefinite suspension and how to support Bryant. Recently, Bryant shared a statement with TechCrunch to further clear the air.
As the founder and CEO at Upsie, Clarence Bethea has the magic sauce when it comes to securing funding. During the latest episode of AfroTech’s Black Tech Green Money (BTGM), he shares how he managed to raise an $18.2 million funding round thanks to his perseverance. He also breaks down what Silicon Valley looks like for Black companies and founders — an experience that surely came with lessons. “I remember we had like 80 Silicon Valley investors there and it was a hard lesson for me to learn,” he shared about one particular experience with the Village Capital program. “They didn’t give a damn about me and it was clear that I meant nothing to them. I was just a Black guy in the room.” Clarence Bethea also recalls a sobering experience with an investor during his time in the program. “I actually had an investor say to me, ‘Clarence, I’ve never seen a Black founder go to exit or IPO at like a billion-plus exit. So, I just have a hard time believing that a Black founder can build a big...
Longtime local innovator Felecia Hatcher — a serial entrepreneur and champion for minority tech business-owners — is reportedly stepping down from her role at Miami’s Center for Black Innovation to lead Black Ambition — a nonprofit organization founded by Grammy-winning artist Pharrell Williams, Bizwomen shares. Black Ambition — a new venture recently launched this past December — was created in hopes of funding projects and companies led by Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs. “Excited to finally be able to announce that I have accepted a role as CEO of Black Ambition a bold vision founded by Pharrell Williams to connect Black & Latinx and HBCU startup founders to unprecedented capital and access through prize competitions,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Excited to lead this! Excited to be in a position to directly fund founders. The best part….although a nationally-focused organization we will be based in Miami. Excited for the journey ahead.” Hatcher is well-known for being a...
Starting a business in the middle of a pandemic is a scary proposition, but PreShow founder and CEO Stacy Spikes was completely unfazed. “Where others may have seen problems, I saw opportunities,” he told AfroTech. “I’m not going to lie and say it was easy — but I will certainly say that I knew that what I had was an idea whose time had come. But, I will also say that I had to pivot, slightly, from my original plan for PreShow.” Getting his start as a film marketing executive and producer, Spikes first made headlines when he became the co-founder and CEO of MoviePass. In theory, MoviePass’s idea was a simple, and welcome, one: pay a monthly subscription fee, see as many movies in the theaters as you’d like. In 2012, MoviePass upped the ante by activating proprietary location-based payment technology, which allowed users to pay for their tickets in a safe and secure way — another idea that was, in fact, before its time. So it’s no surprise that PreShow, too, has the same visionary...
Aligned with some major growth plans, New York-based ExecOnline closed a $45 million Series D funding round. Co-founded in 2012 by Stephen Bailey, Mark Ozer, Barry Goldberg, and Julia Alexander, ExecOnline provides executive education programs and training solutions certified by educational institutions. The company partners with business schools around the world to bring democratized access to leadership development at large companies. “We feel like we have a differentiated and compelling story having pioneered this space,” The company’s CEO Bailey told AfroTech in an interview. “We hopefully want to create awareness that there is a new way to develop leaders that can create much more equity outcomes at organizations.” This latest funding round was led by OMERS Growth Equity with participation from previous investors including Kaplan, Osage Ventures, NewSpring and ABS Capital Partners. ExecOnline plans to use the Series D to further develop its online platform, expand its...
New York-based multimedia organization OkayMedia — whose mission is dedicated to elevating Black culture and amplifying Black voices — has tapped former CNN International anchor Isha Sesay as its first-ever female CEO. According to Variety, Sesay will oversee the company’s digital publications, Okayplayer — the progressive music site founded by The Roots member Questlove — and OkayAfrica — the website dedicated to all things African culture, music, and politics. She will also serve on OkayMedia’s board of directors, alongside Sam Hendel — co-founder of Dataminr — and Shawn Gee — president of Live Nation Urban and manager of The Roots. Additionally, she has also been named co-founder and CEO of OkayMedia’s latest production arm, SPKN/WRD, which aims to bring “fresh perspectives to the forefront, across feature films, documentaries, television, podcasting, and publishing,” according to the company. Some personal news… 👏🏾 Former CNN journalist @IshaSesay joins OkayMedia as new CEO....
Anthony Winston III wanted to make a positive impact within the construction industry while also having the ability to spend more time with his family. With that in mind, he created Winston Engineering Inc, a minority-owned business specializing in the design of Mechanical, Electricial, & Plumbing (MEP) Engineering for residential & commercial buildings. Winston’s hard work and dedication have made his firm the only minority-owned MEP business on the West Coast, but it wasn’t easy to do. “My story is fairly similar to a lot of my peers growing up. Not having a father around as much and dealing with broken promises has turned me into the driven individual I am today. I am fiercely loyal and somewhat obsessed with sticking to my word,” he told AfroTech. “Luckily this trend is no longer the case since Black dads – whether they live with their children or not, are more actively involved in their children’s lives than their counterparts of other races.” Despite all of that, he overcame...
In honor of Black History Month, we here at AfroTech, wish to recognize the efforts of Black scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs. Throughout history, Black American accomplishments have revolutionized not only our country but the world at large. While there are many more, here are 28 Black pioneers in science, technology, and business today you should know about: Asmau Ahmed, Founder of PlumPerfect View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Next IT Girl (@thenextitgirl_) Asmau Ahmed is a Senior Strategist that has led corporate strategy and digital innovation for established and emergent organizations in a number of industries including financial services, and consumer retail. She thrives on identifying and growing (digital) companies that have the power to transform the way everyday people do everyday things. With experience in both corporate and entrepreneurial leadership, she has honed her skills in assessing the business viability and risk profile and in...
The support for HBCUs and Black-led businesses has been at an all-time high this year, and more companies and entrepreneurs are stepping up to be reliable assets for funding. Recently, Maurice Jones — President and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) — helped donate over $100 million to Black-owned businesses and HBCUs through public and private funding, Shoppe Black reports . So far, Jones and LISC have been able to source $25 million from Netflix, $60 million from Lowe’s, $40 million from Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, Black Business reports . As stated by Jones, LISC is a community development finance organization that provides access to capital, grants, loans, equity investments, tax credit equity, affordable housing, and technical assistance to places like schools, healthcare centers, and organized groups. LISC uses their services to “catalyze opportunities with the real focus on underserved and communities of color.” According to Jones , LISC...
Lowe’s CEO, Marvin Ellison, announced that the home improvement company will do its part in helping reboot the American economy by allocating $25 million in grants to small businesses owned by people of color. The fund aims to assist in the re-opening of businesses owned by people of color that were affected by the COVID-19 shutdown. “These are going to be minority businesses and other businesses that are now starting to reopen,” Ellison told CNBC’s Mad Money . “So we just want to continue to not only run a good business but also be a great corporate citizen in all of the communities that we operate in.” Earlier this year, Lowe’s also provided a $25 million fund to aid in the fight against the pandemic in which $10 million went to providing medical frontline workers with Person Protective Equipment (PPE). According to Black Enterprise , Ellison became CEO of Lowe’s in 2018 making him one of only four Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. Ellison believes in the small businesses of...
Adam Roosevelt adds yet another lofty title to his resume — CEO at 28. According to Black Enterprise , the Virginia native is a combat veteran having served two tours in Afghanistan and a term in NATO. He is also a politician who ran against and unfortunately lost to Democratic incumbent Alfonso Lopez for the 49th District of the House of Delegates in 2017. Plus, he also served as a contractor in cybersecurity and intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security. Roosevelt has since turned his sights on environmental health and technologies as he was just chosen to be not only the first CEO but the first Black CEO of SEM North America. “This business opportunity brings Adam Roosevelt as one of the few African American pioneers of eco-friendly environmental solutions that will disrupt multiple industries around North America and around the globe,” COO and founder Leslie Grant told Black Business . Founded in 2016, by Grant and John Jones, SEM aims to work with customers in the...
