Steve Pamon, President of Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment Company, Shares Sound Advice for HBCU Grads

Steve Pamon, the president and chief operating officer of Beyoncé’s management and production company, Parkwood Entertainment, has a message for the class of 2020: your biggest hater is yourself.

The Morehouse College alum delivered words of motivation and inspiration to 200 HBCU students at the Culture Creators‘ virtual C2 Summit earlier this month. The four-day summit, which was held May 18–21, was designed to enrich graduates by highlighting the achievements of diverse professionals in entertainment. The digital experience included panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, speed mentoring, culture chats, and a pitch competition. Students were also granted access to job recruiters and seasoned influencers with various backgrounds in business, entertainment, technology, finance, and lifestyle.

“Your biggest hater you have to worry about is yourself. I was my biggest hater—still am for the most part,” said Pamon during a virtual keynote. “You start thinking about what could go wrong, when the truth of the matter is, the best predictor of future behavior is what? Past performance. Nobody invited to this Zoom has a continued history of messing up.”

He also warned students not to compare themselves to others, which can leave them feeling discouraged. “We use the wrong measurements to judge our success,” said Pamon, who oversees all aspects of Parkwood Entertainment, Parkwood Touring, and Parkwood Ventures. Pamon was responsible for managing the launch of Beyonce’s athleisure line, IVY Park, as well as the entertainer’s brand partnerships with WTRMLN WTR, Global Citizen, and Chime For Change.

Other speakers at the C2 Summit included chairwoman and COO of Atlantic Records Julie Greenwald; Sports Agent (CAA) Carlos Fleming; Motown General Manager, Marc Byers; Miami Dolphins Marketing Executive Marques Jackson, and Nickelodeon Human Resources Exec Courtney Oliver.

Founded in 2015, Culture Creators celebrates black culture across music, television, film, visual arts, fashion, sports, tech, and entrepreneurship. The organization focuses on education and digital content and aims to educate, inspire, and empower millennials and Gen Z.