Name: Kenny Mac
Profession: Brand Architect / Head of of Marketing, Shiekh Shoes
Age: 40
I have put my passion to purpose by: using the experience and network I have built throughout my career to help the next generation get in and be successful.
Brand visionary, lifestyle & experiential marketer, and dot connector are the words to describe creative entrepreneur Kenny Mac. His innate ability to connect like-minded individuals, backed by his extensive career in lifestyle and experiential marketing has helped him build a deep network of creatives and influencers.
A seasoned executive, Mac has held top marketing positions for many different companies including VIBE and Rolling Stone magazines, Ecko clothing, Belvedere Vodka, and the celebrity empire of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
While attending Howard University Mac started a party promotion company with his two best friends, one who went to UVA and the other who attended Morgan state. “We were just trying to make money by throwing parties and bringing our friends together at those three schools,” Mac tells BE Modern Man. “We were just having fun and slowly but surely brands started calling us and offering to pay us to put up banners at our parties or sample/seed product to our party attendees. It was then that I realized the value of knowing what was cool and having the skill to make people gravitate to what I thought was cool. That was when I realized that I could make a career of something I was organically good at, had a passion for and loved to do.”
Since then Mac has went on to consult for a wide portfolio of brands including Diesel, Armani Exchange, and GQ Magazine. “My biggest piece of advice is to believe in yourself and hustle harder and smarter than everyone around you,” says Mac. He adds, “there is no such thing as an overnight success so no matter how hard the path, stick to it, trust yourself and follow your passion.”
After several years of successfully developing other people’s brands, Mac founded Creative Contraband a company which partners with established
creatives and industry experts to create effective and efficient partnerships. “The goal is for Creative Contraband to become a portfolio of youthful, current and similarly branded companies,” Mac tells BE Modern Man.Priding himself on building teams of young talent, Mac creates amazing programs to give them hands on experience. “I have been blessed to start my career with mentors who were leaders,” says Mac. “This not only taught me what it takes to be a leader, it has also encouraged me to be a leader to the young hustlers who come to me for advice.” Present to guide his teams in the process, Mac believes in allowing them to take ownership for their work, and being recognized for their contributions.
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Whether it is a team or a brand, building creative campaigns is Mac’s passion. In addition to Creative Contraband Mac serves as Head Of Marketing for West Coast independent retailer Shiekh. The company started 25 years ago with one store in Oakland, and now Mac is part of a team working on its brand refresh. “I am part of an executive team taking the brand into its next chapter,” Mac tells BE Modern Man
. “We’ve already launched a new retail environment in our Legacy Level door in Downtown LA, and are revamping the majority of our fleet which consist of 140 doors. The team has executed 360-degree co-op campaigns for brands including Puma, Adidas, Timberland, Converse and Asics. I am very excited for what we have coming in 2016 for the 25th Anniversary. Stay tuned!”Mac has been in the game for a long time. Working with some of the world’s most recognizable brands and brightest minds has provided him with invaluable experiences. When asked what advice he can offer to younger generation BE Modern Men hopefuls he gives us a straight and direct response. “Be true to you, keep your nose clean and when faced with success or failure keep building.”
As talented men of color continue to accomplish amazing things throughout the world it is highly critical that these men are highlighted in an appropriate way. ” Black Enterprise
is the trust tree for the African-American community in Corporate America,” says Mac. “It gives the community a platform to learn and share. This series is important because it showcases the BE Modern Man in our communities which inspires more of us to achieve.”Behind the Hustle (a platform to help young adults achieve career success), Creative Contraband, and Shiekh, are the platforms Mac is using to move the culture forward. “To me being a BE Modern Man means using successes in my career to inspire and advise my community to produce an army of BE Modern Men in the next generation.”
An amazingly talented family man, creative and executive, Mac has literally taken his creatives talents from Howard to Hollywood. The BlackEnterprise.com team salutes Kenny Mac for his outstanding accomplishments and genuine interest in developing the next generation of BE Modern Man hopefuls.
It’s our normal to be extraordinary. Follow @blackenterprise and join the BE Modern Man conversation using #BEModernMan.