A spotlight on individuals who are moving onward & upward

Ebony, Dec, 2007 by Adrienne P. Samuels

UBONG ITUEN

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As the new vice president of Global Brand Strategy for McDonald's, Ubong Ituen is joining a long list of high-paid, Black corporate globetrotters.

That means she's helping to create Mickey Ds' world image. It also means her flight schedule is quite fight.

"For example, in October, in the course of three days, I'll be in Lisbon, Portugal and then fly to Paris for two days for a meeting," explains Imen, 48. "And in November, I'll be in Japan, Australia and Brazil. It comes in spurts, and when it comes, it's a lot."

Ituen has held several positions with the Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corporation. She lives in the Chicago area and is married. Both she and her husband are Nigerian immigrants, albeit from different towns. Ituen moved to the States as a little girl. Of all the places she's lived here, she considers St. Louis the most like home.

Her parents, she says, instilled a strong work ethic in her. "I do believe that when you're an immigrant and you come to another country, you come with a specific goal in mind," says Ituen. "My parents came here and then later sent for me. It wasn't, 'Are you going to go to college?' It was, 'What college arc you going to go to?'"

ITUEN'S FIRST J-O-B: "I was in high school, and I was a sales auditor for Stix, Baer and Fuller, a department store in St. Louis. After school, we'd all sit in this room, and we'd just thumb through [charge receipts] to make sure that what was charged on the card was consistent with what the customer bought. We had to do that manually. It was minimum wage, but it was my money, and there's a sense of independence that came with that."

ANTHONY BRADLEY

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Need a Ford? Anthony Bradley might be the best person to talk to about that--if you live in Latin America, that is.

Bradley, who joined Ford Motor Company after graduating from Livingstone College nearly 23 years ago, has since worked his way up to being president of Ford Credit Latin America. He won't disclose how much money crosses his path year after year, but it's possibly in the billions--and there's a ton of responsibility.

Bradley is in charge of all Ford credit operations for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. He lives in a tiny town in South Florida and travels frequently in an effort to persuade dealers to work with him.

The first time he interviewed for a job at Ford, he was told no. "I didn't get it, and I was very upset because I knew I had what it took to get a job," says Bradley, 48. "So I re-contacted [the HR department] and sent a letter, and said I'd like to have another opportunity. I'd like to have a job. I got a second chance at the interview, and I was hired."

Bradley persuades dealers to use Ford Motor Credit to outfit their dealerships with cars that are sold to the public.

He's the first African-American to hold such a position at Ford. "If I know I can do something, I'd like to have the opportunity to prove it," he says.

BRADLEY'S FIRST J-O-B: "I [worked for] the [supermarket]. The store would allow folks to come in and help people with their groceries ... for tips. That's when I realized the importance of exceeding the customer's expectations."

CAROL JOHNSON

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The Boston Public Schools system finally has a new boss--and she's Black. After years of searching, this big city has decided to bring on Carol Johnson to lead one of the nation's largest--and most diverse--school districts. One of a handful of Black people in such positions across the country, this Fisk University alumna worked with the Memphis Public Schools for four years and had a stint in Minnesota before heading to the northeast last August.

It was difficult to leave the warmth of the South for the colder shoulder of Beantown, says Johnson, 59.

"I do have very mixed feelings because I love Memphis, and it's a great city," says Johnson. "I think that we have to focus on what schools can do [and] then challenge the rest of the community to share the responsibility of those other things that schools can't totally control."

Johnson's role model is her own mother, who taught 5th grade in Brownsville, Tenn., where Johnson grew up. "Having grown up in segregated elementary schools in the South, I think I learned early on the power of great teachers to inspire students to have high aspirations and to seek excellence," she says.

JOHNSON'S FORST J-O-B: "My first job ever was an elementary teacher in the D.C. public schools at Garfield Elementary School. I was only there for a few months. It paid $6,800. That was for the whole year."