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Kai D. Wright, a Lecturer at Columbia University, Media Executive, and Author, discusses his Open Letter on Race, blacklist100 and how to create systematic change in the workplace.
Kai is passionate about capitalizing on the momentum of this point in history to create systemic change to fix a broken system. He stresses that conversations on race, is not progress. Progress is tangible action with measurable objectives to right the wrongs in the workplace.
Episode Highlights:
- How he strategically architected his career
- Pioneers vs. Settlers
- Kai’s early years
- The significance of 2020 in history
- Kai’s Open Letter on Race
- How companies are responding to the Black Lives Matter Movement and protests
- Why Black leaders inside organizations need to be empowered to lead change from within
- How hiring outside diversity consulting companies sends the wrong message to internal Black talent
- Why everyone needs to get out of their comfort zone
- The blacklist100’s origin story and mission
Bio
Kai D. Wright helps busy executives, celebrities, and founders grow their brands by applying creativity strategically. He specializes in the convergence of communication, technology, digital, and culture. A scholar-practitioner, Kai teaches at Columbia University and serves as a global consulting partner at Ogilvy. His newest book, Follow the Feeling (Wiley, August 2019), reveals branding secrets based on research from 1,500 fast-growing companies from Aldi to Peloton. He has been recognized as a business leader by Thinkers 50 Radar 2020, American Marketing Association, Association of National Advertisers, and PR Society of America, in addition to receiving the highest honors from the Advertising Research Foundation. He is an alum of Forbes 30 under 30. He is the curator of #blacklist100. Kai has a master’s degree in communication from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in economics from The University of Chicago. He resides in New York City.