Bozoma Saint John

She lost her husband to cancer and learned to find strength in others.

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Make Your Brand the Best In the World

Ever wonder who is the mastermind behind successful campaigns by brands such as Pepsi and Beats by Dre? Well it’s the same person who is looked at as the savior for Uber – Bozoma Saint John.

Bozoma or “Boz” has lead an incredible and inspiring life. She grew up in Africa, learned to speak three languages, and has pushed through so many hardships it’s absolutely amazing.

Boz started her early career working for Spike Lee. She started by getting coffee, and doing everything needed around the office (including fixing the coffee machine). By chance one day she was given a script to look over, and the notes she made instantly boosted her career into an expert of branding and campaign management.

She went on to lead marketing at Pepsi, which became an era of her life when she went through her toughest personal struggle. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and only had six months left to live…

"Bring your whole self to every situation.”

Boz was able to get through the loss of her partner by concentrating on the future and making Beats by Dre a successful brand. Within her first week they were acquired by Apple, and she was be on the forefront of helping to create and shape Apple Music.

Along this journey she was raising a daughter by herself and learned the importance of relying on other people. So many of us feel we need to do it all ourselves and consider asking for help a weakness.

But the truth is, no one should do it all on their own. We are all in this world together and should help each other, as well as ask for help when we need it.

Today Boz is the Chief Brand Officer at Uber. She’s come along to help the image of the company, as well as Silicon Valley in general, and is the person that the New York Times believes will help save Uber.

Discover all of that and much more on Episode 559.

Some Questions I Ask:

What were the big challenges you faced in high school? (11:04)
How do you cultivate your intuition? (18:22)
Did you always know you would be an executive at big brands? (20:36)
What was the biggest lesson about working with Pepsi? (41:52)
How do you deliver the message through an artist or influencer? (42:58)
What is the key to building a great brand? (44:53)
What did you learn about yourself watching your husband’s battle with cancer? (52:57)
What were the most beautiful moments in your last few weeks with your husband? (55:27)
How was it working with Dr. Dre? (59:20)

In this episode, you will learn:

What life in Africa is really like (10:13)
The importance of finding self love (16:07)
Boz’s gateway drug into cultural studies (21:47)
What you really get out of college (27:53)
Why you need to make connections with people (31:00)
What it was like to work with Spike Lee (33:30)
How Trump was able to win (43:33)
The best counter marketing campaign of all time (46:34)
Why anger has no purpose (54:58)
The reason why relying on other people isn’t a weakness (57:30)
What helped Boz with her grief (1:03:44)
Plus much more…

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