When Apple marketing executive Bozoma Saint John took the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference in 2016, it was easily the most buzzed about keynote of the day. (After commanding the audience of geeky engineers to sing along to “Rapper’s Delight,” Saint John immediately started trending Twitter.) This would be the first time a black woman ever took the stage at the famously white and male tech event, but to Saint John, it was business as usual.
“I am one of the best at what I do,” she told Billboard, “regardless of being a woman and being black–those are benefits!”
Born in Ghana, Saint John moved to Colorado as a teen. She spent her adolescence closely following pop culture as a means of connecting with her classmates.
“I consumed it like I was getting a Ph.D.–it was survival,” she recalls. “No one would talk to me. I was the outsider, so it was born out of necessity, to see what people were doing, thinking, saying–anything that would give me clues as to how to behave or engage.”
Her hard work paid off, big time. Before landing at Apple, Saint John worked for Spike Lee’s production company and ran Pepsi’s music and entertainment marketing division. The self proclaimed “badass” went on to be named Billboard’s Executive of the Year.
Even if you haven’t heard of Saint John, you’ve probably seen her work.
She was the mastermind behind some of the most memorable moments in entertainment. Remember Beyonce’s blowout 2012 Super Bowl halftime show? It was Saint John who convinced Queen Bey to perform. And the Apple Music commercial with Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, and Mary J. Blige pouring through a box of mixtapes and basically having the best party ever? Saint John was one of its creators.
To Saint John, it’s important to bring the stories of women of color to life.
“To me it’s the most gratifying thing. I want to write the story of women of color and of millennials and unicorns,” she has said.
When she’s not engineering some of the most exciting moments in entertainment, Saint John is busy taking amazing selfies. You can (and should) follow her on Instagram here.
