Bozoma “Boz” St. John is called “The Badass CMO” for a reason. Ghanaian-American. 6ft+ in heels + bold lipstick. She doesn’t blend in – she leads.
5️⃣things Bozoma built:
- Apple Music + Beats – First Chief Brand Officer. She launched Apple Music at WWDC 2016. Beyoncé + Drake on stage? That was Boz bringing culture, not just tech. Her rule: “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”
- Netflix CMO – Led marketing during the streaming wars. She pushed Netflix to tell stories that reflect real people. “Diversity isn’t a department. It’s a lens.”
- Endurance Through Loss – In 2013 she lost her husband Peter to cancer. 4 years later, she lost her daughter Lael in a car accident. Instead of breaking, she wrote The Urgent Life and started speaking on grief, courage, and showing up anyway.
- “Be Your Authentic Badass Self” – Her signature phrase. She walked into every boardroom as herself: bold, Black, female, unapologetic. No code-switching.
- Brand Builder for Culture – PepsiCo, Uber, Endeavor. She doesn’t just sell products. She moves culture. She asks: “Who’s not at the table? Let’s invite them.”
The lesson from Bozoma: Your pain + your personality are not liabilities. They’re leverage. She turned “I’m too much” into “I’m exactly what the room needs.”
Quote to remember: “Be a light in the world. Be a light for yourself. And if you can be a light for others, that’s even better.”
From music exec → tech CMO → bestselling author. She moved mountains by refusing to shrink.
Bozoma’s superpower wasn’t a marketing degree. It was bringing her whole self to rooms that expected her to shrink.
Where do you need “Boz energy” right now?
