Name: Kim Hunter
Profession: Integrated Marketing Communications Leader
What is your age? 54
I have contributed/changed the advertising and marketing industry by: I have contributed to and changed the communications industry by placing ethnically diverse candidates in entry-level positions and full-time internships at top-tier PR and advertising agencies, in addition to Fortune 500 companies; along with awarding $1.83 million in scholarships to 331 minority students across the country who are pursuing careers in the communications field.
Kim L. Hunter is the Founder and President/Chief Executive Officer of LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS, a multimillion-dollar integrated marketing communications corporation. At the age of 25, Hunter became the youngest marketing manager for Pharmaseal, a division of Baxter International, the largest manufacturer and distributor of health care products worldwide. He was responsible for $53 million in annual sales.
Hunter’s talents are no secret as he is frequently asked to speak at universities and seminars. He served as an adjunct professor at California State University, Northridge at the School of Journalism where he taught the course, “Diversity and the Media,” for three academic years.
Throughout his 33 years of corporate and agency experience in advertising, marketing and public relations Hunter has witnessed many changes. But there is one thing in particular that he would like to see. “I can’t wait for the day that we put more people of color in positions of influence and decision-making,’ Hunter tells BE Modern Man. “It’s a business imperative that I fear we are not tying to this ongoing issue. It’s not about having diversity for diversity’s sake. It is about having a more competitive and better representation of our diverse society and our clients.”
Representation in the industry seems to be largely through targeted advertising campaigns on screen, in print or on mobile, but there remains a gap among professionals behind the scenes.
“Being represented in the advertising industry is important because it inspires others to pursue something they might not have thought to be attainable,” says Hunter. “It’s important that different voices, ideas and people are represented in our industry for consumers.”
Read more on page 2…
Our younger generation of advertising and marketing BE Modern Man hopefuls have many tools and resources to begin cultivating a successful career in the industry. Hunter stresses that hard works beats talent when talent fails
to work hard. “Not everyone truly understands what it means to be successful in his or her career,”says Hunter. “However, if it is something that they aspire to be, then they have to put in the work to develop themselves and continue to reinvent oneself. They must emulate the leaders that they look up to and push to be better.”The LAGRANT Foundation, a nonprofit organization has instilled the values of hard-work for 17 years. “We provide scholarships, career & professional development workshops, internships, and educational enrichment programs to ethnically diverse students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in advertising, marketing and public relations.” This is by far one of Hunter’s greatest personal achievements along with KLH & Associates, a multicultural executive search firm specializing in the recruitment and placement of mid-to-senior level ethnically diverse candidates in the communications industry. “There is a lot of talent out there and our goal is to place these individuals with Fortune 500 companies and advertising, marketing, public relations agencies.”
Hunter has successfully launched three separate companies and says to be a BE Modern Man you have to be a leader and willing to take calculated risks. “That means you have to be persuasive, confident, make and stand by difficult decisions and be able to leave a path for others to follow.”
With 33 years of corporate and agency experience plus three successful companies to his name the BlackEnterprise.com team congratulates Kim Hunter on all of his achievements. A true testament to what hard-work, patience, and a can-do attitude will produce, Hunter is well deserving of the BE Modern Man title and we look forward to seeing his continued success.
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Pic Caption: Kim Hunter, Lagrant Communications