March 25, 2026
Bozoma Saint John Urges Women to Embrace ‘Urgent’ Living and Fearless Career Pivots
The acclaimed marketer and "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star talked about grief, career transitions, and taking bold risks at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit
Acclaimed marketer and reality TV star Bozoma Saint John spoke candidly during the BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit about how grief, intuition, and defying expectations have shaped her ascension in corporate America. Describing the summit as a “safe space,” the marketing executive, who has led global brands such as PepsiCo, Apple Music, Uber, and Netflix, reflected on the emotional cost of being a high achiever and the loneliness that can come with growth.
Being Misunderstood
“Oftentimes, you’re not very well liked. People don’t appreciate your suffering because they think everything must be fine,” she told hundreds of Black women executives at the conference during a one-on-one fireside chat with former corporate giant Jerri DeVard.
Not everyone can “come along with you on the journey,” she added, rejecting the idea of changing as a negative characteristic.
“We say, you know, ‘she changed, got brand new.’ Well, I’m on a brand-new journey. So yes, I am brand new, and it is OK. That doesn’t have to be an insult.”
Career Highs and Personal Lows
Saint John, who successfully pitched Beyoncé to perform at the 2013 PepsiCo Super Bowl halftime show, said trusting her gut has played a key role in her career elevation.
“There hadn’t been a Black woman on the Super Bowl halftime stage in 10 years, since Janet Jackson,” she said. Although she faced skepticism and resistance when she initially pitched the record-breaking Grammy-winning artist, she followed her instincts and continued to push.
“Nobody minced any words. They were like, ‘Look, we don’t need any wardrobe malfunctions, and Beyoncé wears outfits that are too small. We don’t think that she’ll connect with the audience.’”
Nevertheless, that performance went on to become one of the most celebrated halftime shows in recent history.
“It was such a high high to win so big in the face of people who said we couldn’t do it,” said Saint John.
However, within months, she suffered one of the biggest personal setbacks of her life.
“That was in January 2013. In May, my husband of 10 years was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma. In December, he was dead. It was a year that felt impossible.”
After returning from bereavement leave the following January, she realized she could no longer stay in New York.
“I knew that I had to change my life. I couldn’t stay in New York. The grief was too heavy there,” she said. She defied the counsel of her loved ones, who advised her to “sit down and take it easy for a year,” she said. “Everyone was worried about my mental health, and everybody told me that I should just sit down and be quiet. Don’t make any fast moves.”
However, she knew she would “drown” if she stayed. So, in the midst of grieving, Saint John took a huge career leap.
“I got a call from Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, and they said they had started a new music streaming service off of the back of Beats by Dre,” she recalled. She was transparent with Dr. Dre about her recent loss and need for change.
“I told him that my husband had been dead for six weeks. I needed to get out of New York,” she recalled. “He didn’t blink… he said, ‘We’ve seen what you’ve done at Pepsi. You understand music. We’re trying to build a global company here. You should come anyway.’”
Saint John accepted. Within six months, the company was acquired by Apple.
Defying Expectations
Saint John traced her determination to live life on her own terms back to her adolescence and immigrant upbringing. Born in Ghana, she developed a love for language despite her parents pushing her toward a traditional professional path.
“My parents, being very typical African parents, said that I needed to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer. Since I was good in the sciences and math, I was pushed into the ‘you’re going to be a doctor’ lane.”
It was a high school English teacher who shifted her sense of possibility.
“She graded a paper that I’d written and told me that I had the potential to be a writer. It was the first time anyone had complimented something that was outside of the sciences and math. The first time I understood that perhaps the expectation set for me didn’t have to be [my reality].”
Even while studying pre‑med and taking the MCAT, she majored in English and African American Studies. After college, she defied her parents’ insistence that she go straight to medical school.
“When I graduated from college, I wanted to take a year before going to med school, which my parents said, Absolutely not. But I ran off to New York City, where I met Spike Lee, where I became his assistant, and I never turned back from advertising and marketing since that day.”
The Urgent Life
Saint John, who published the memoir “The Urgent Life” in 2024, ended the session with a compelling message for the hundreds of professional women attendees about navigating their careers.
“I told you that in December of 2013, my husband died of cancer. But what really changed for me in that moment, amongst many things, was the way that I view years. When I was standing in the receiving line of his funeral, people hugged me and said, ‘I’m so sorry. He died too young.’ It was four days before his 44th birthday when he passed away. I was 37 years old, and even though I understood what they were saying and I agreed with them, I didn’t want that to be me.”
Her husband’s six‑month illness and subsequent death were a major turning point that not only reshaped her life but also reframed her perception of time.
“It gave me an unshakable confidence in that I want to live this life as fully as possible — and on my terms,” she said. “So, when somebody says to you, wait six months for that promotion [or] wait six months for me to propose, I want to say to you, do not wait. Urgency is actually not about time, but it’s about intention.”
