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Jerri DeVard Launches Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA) Alongside Other CMOs From Peloton, Netflix, and More

BECA is made up of 26 Black executives from companies like Adidas, Netflix, Peloton, and Unilever.
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DiversityInc

· less than 3 min read

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Here’s a not-so-fun fact: Black people make up 13% of the US population, but as of 2020, only 3% of Association of National Advertisers (ANA) CMOs.

That’s why Jerri DeVard, former head of marketing at companies like ADT and Office Depot, recently founded the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA).

  • The organization aims to address the “corporate diversity gap,” per a press release shared with Marketing Brew.
  • It’s made up of 26 Black executives from companies like Adidas, Netflix, Peloton, and Unilever.

Special sauce: BECA will use four “ships” as guideposts: internship, mentorship, sponsorship, and scholarship. Membership fees fund those initiatives, and some members plan to raise money for scholarships or provide internships to mentees.

  • “We are building an inventory and a database of young marketing professionals who we believe have the promise, the intellect, the background, [and] the experience [to succeed in the marketing industry],” DeVard told Marketing Brew.
  • “We're providing rare access to these rockstar C-suite leaders who are going to talk about the playbook of how they overcame the odds,” DeVard continued.

Looking ahead: Organizations like AdColor and 600 & Rising are trying to address systemic inequities on Madison Avenue—and these C-suite marketers want to use their influence to take action, too. — PB

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Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.