This week on The Urban Business Roundtable, UBR Contributor Renita D. Young speaks with music executive, entrepreneur, brand expert and author Steve Stoute, CEO and Founder of Translation, a full service, transcultural advertising agency. Stoute has been recognized by Black Enterprise as one of the Top Executives in Advertising & Marketing. Stoute is also the author of The Tanning of America: How Hip Hop Created A Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy (Gotham).
Stoute, a New York City native, has long enjoyed success as music industry executive and tastemaker, beginning his career with Sony Music Entertainment, where he served as president of urban music. His work ethic drove him up the ranks to become executive vice president of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, where he guided the careers of such top hip-hop artists as Nas and Eminem.
Today, Stoute leads Translation, serving a client roster that includes such major brands as McDonald’s, State Farm, Target, Estee Lauder and even Lady Gaga. He also serves a chairman and lead investor of the Carol’s Daughter, the popular natural beauty line founded by Lisa Price. Stoute has been recognized with numerous awards, including AdColor’s Innovator of the Year and induction into the Advertising Hall of Achievement by the American Advertising Foundation. He joins the Roundtable to share the motivators that pushed him to a career of achievement and innovation.
Also, UBR Contributor Samantha Pass speaks with international educator, speaker and entrepreneur Liz Ngonzi, the founder of Amazing Taste, LLC, a consulting firm that connects non-profit organizations with corporations and foundations. Among the clients served by Amazing Taste are The Boys and Girls Clubs of New Jersey and Susan G. Komen for The Cure. Ngonzi joins the Roundtable to share tips on how to make your nonprofit venture a profitable operation in order to successfully serve its mission.
In addition, in my “Alfred’s Notepad” segment, I talk about a great new resource for entrepreneurs and executives who want to learn from the best examples when it comes to developing and effectively using an influential brand: the new Decoded section at BlackEnterprise.com. Decoded takes iconic brands, ranging from Bill Cosby and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to LL Cool J and the Super Bowl, and breaks down their impact on both the economy and the society as a whole. This section is a must for those business owners looking to inject some innovation and influence in to both their personal and company branding efforts.
And finally, every week on UBR, you’ll get motivation and inspiration from author and entrepreneurial icon Farrah Gray, a weekly wrap-up of business news from USA Today business correspondent Charisse Jones, our Patient Investor Report from Ariel Investments and key economic intelligence for small business owners from our UBR economists Derrick Collins and Rasheed Carter.
If you have a question you want answered or a topic you want addressed on The Urban Business Roundtable, connect with me at BE Insider, the social media network for people who are serious about Black Enterprise. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.
Alfred Edmond Jr. is the senior VP/editor-at-large of Black Enterprise and the host of the Urban Business Roundtable, a weekly radio show, sponsored by Ariel Investments, airing CST Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. on WVON-AM 1690, the Talk of Chicago. You can also listen live online at WVON.com. Check back each week for UBR Spotlight, which features additional resources, advice and information from and about the topics, entrepreneurs and experts featured on the show.