Almost one year after joining Uber, Bozoma Saint John is leaving the ride-sharing giant to become the CMO of Endeavor, the parent company of leading talent agency WME, which represents A-list stars like Oprah Winfrey and Matt Damon.
Saint John, a marketing guru who rose through the corporate ranks at Pepsi and Apple, began working as Uber’s
chief brand officer on June 12, 2017. She was hired by ousted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. At the time, she told Black Enterprise that she was anxious to help rebrand the company’s image. “People like me jump right into the deep end, head first. I’m already going. The practical and logistical things will catch up.”During her
tenure, Saint John took steps to improve Uber’s embattled image, even going as far as to personally work as a driver to better serve customers. Yet, despite her efforts and the shift in company leadership, Uber was riddled with scandals and controversy in 2017 and made little progress in diversifying its workforce.Nonetheless, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wished Saint
John luck in her new role at Endeavor. “Boz joined Uber at a time when the company was hurting — but her energy, optimism and creativity have been a key part of our ongoing turnaround. Endeavor is lucky to have her, and I’m excited to watch her work in her new role,” he said in a statement, reports Business Insider.At Endeavor, Saint John will focus on connecting its high profile clientele with big companies and brands, which, in some ways, is comparable to her former position at Apple, where she played a major role in expanding Apple Music and spearheaded successful ad campaigns such as the popular commercial series starring Mary J. Blige, Kerry Washington, and Taraji P. Henson.