Uber’s New Executive Bozoma Saint John is Ghanaian

Opportunity dances with those already on the dancing floor.

Bozoma Saint John is an inspiration to mostly women that there is also room for them in the tech industry. A source of motivation for single mothers that they can as well make it big on their own.

When she was once asked: What does being a C-suite executive mean for you as a single mother? What do you hope your daughter learns by watching you?

“As a mom, I want to be an example to her that you can do anything you want to do. All of the numbers and stats would tell you that [my career] is not possible, right? But it is possible. Of course it’s possible. You can be smart enough, you can be savvy enough, you can be quick enough. For me, this is a really triumphant moment. I think this is a moment that I hope she points to later in her life and says, “Well, my mom did that.”

Meet Saint John’s new role as chief brand officer for Uber makes her a unicorn in Silicon Valley: She’s one of the very few black female C-suite executives in tech. But to earn her place in the pantheon, Saint John has overcome challenges that would have stymied most mortals.

Saint John, 40, a woman whose résumé name-checks her tenure at some of the world’s biggest brands, explains her reasoning.

“I’ve worked hard for my life,” she says. “No one gave me anything. The house I own is a reflection of that. It belongs to me and to [my daughter] Lael, so I can make it as feminine and bold as I am. Because I can!”

When Saint John was five years old, a coup d’etat forced her family to flee their native Ghana and seek political asylum in the States. They ultimately settled in Colorado Springs, and Saint John developed an encyclopedic knowledge of all things pop culture to make friends. Landing a job with Spike Lee’s advertising agency after graduating from Wesleyan University (where, as an undergrad, she taught a course on Tupac Shakur), she went on to develop a relationship with Beyoncé that eventually resulted in Saint John initiating a complex $50 million deal for Pepsi to sponsor the singer’s 2013 tour and the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show.

But Saint John’s professional triumph was accompanied by personal tragedy; her husband died of cancer that same year. Needing a change, she jumped to headphone company Beats. Shortly thereafter, Apple acquired Beats, and Saint John became the head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes. Now she’s on to beleaguered super-brand Uber.