Adweek has released its 2018 Power List, and there isn’t one black face on it.
The Power List, according to Adweek, ranks notable people from several industries including advertising, marketing, media and tech.
The list is supposedly based on “company value, revenue and growth, market performance, consumer reach, standing among rivals, industry accolades, media buzz and the amount of news each player contributes to the content cycle.”
Adweek brags the list is an “eclectic mix” of lesser known execs and familiar faces like Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, but we’re calling BS.
There’s plenty of black execs who are making big moves that should have earned a spot on this list.
For instance, what about Richelieu Dennis? Dennis co-founded Sundial Brands, the company responsible for introducing Shea Moisture to the natural hair community.
There's, of course, JAY-Z, who was worth an estimated $900 million as of 2017, according to People. Why wasn’t he included?
And Diddy claimed the crown of wealthiest African American hip hop artist in 2017, before Jay dethroned him in 2018.
Might we also offer up Oprah, who simply reigns in all of her Oprah-ness.
Or how about Charles King, the founder and CEO of MACRO, a media brand financing film, television and digital projects starring and created by people of color? The world can't go a day or two without a MACRO-backed project announcement. Don't take your eyes off them.
Cathy Hughes is the woman behind Radio One (now known as Urban One). Y'all know about the channel, TV One. We can thank Hughes for that one.
Robert Smith, CEO and chairman of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners made his debut on The Forbes 400 in 2015. Smith was named "the African American billionaire who's richer than Michael Jordan," and is only second in wealth only to Oprah.
Oh, and we going to act like Bozoma Saint John who has made boss moves in companies like Pepsi, Apple, Uber and now Endeavor ain't out here killing the game?!
And those are just a few black faces from the U.S. We haven't even scratched the surface of black names that ought to be on Adweek's list. With lists like Adweek's, it becomes more apparent why we have organizations like ADCOLOR.
Adweek, what are you doing?
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