Ebony honors Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications - Brief Article

Ebony, June, 2002

SOME of the nation's most accomplished women in marketing and communications were honored at EBONY'S third annual Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications Awards ceremony in New York. The award recipients comprised a "who's who" among African-American women who are excelling in their fields and changing the face of power in today's world.

Among the honorees were Catherine Liggins Hughes, founder and chairperson of Radio One Inc., and Tracey E. Edmonds, president and CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group. Both received the Entrepreneur Award.

"Several of today's honorees have reached the top of corporate America or have created their own successful corporations," Johnson Publishing Company President Linda Johnson Rice told the more than 600 guests at the Hilton New York and Towers. "Today's honorees are women who have broken through barriers and live without bounds. Thank you for making a difference in today's world."

A highlight of the event was the announcement that Rice has been promoted to the position of president and CEO of Johnson Publishing Co., the No. 1 Black-owned publishing company in the world. Associate publisher Jeff Bums Jr. read a letter from Chairman John H. Johnson in which he said Rice has been operating as CEO, and he wanted to make her title official and express my sincere appreciation and admiration for the great job you have done." He will retain the title of publisher and chairman.

Honoree Catherine Hughes' Radio One is the largest African-American-owned and -operated broadcast company in the United States. Radio One is valued at $2 billion and employs a staff of 1,500. Awardee Tracey Edmonds heads an entertainment company that owns film and TV production and music management and publishing entities. The legendary Madam C. J. Walker also was presented the Entrepreneur Award, posthumously, for pioneering marketing to women by developing and selling hair products. Her award was accepted by her great-great-grand-daughter, author and journalist A'Lelia Bundles.

Vicki Mabrey, CBS news correspondent for 60 Minutes II, was mistress of ceremonies for the program. Among the celebrity guests from the business, communications and entertainment worlds were Kenneth (Babylace) Edmonds, husband of honoree Tracer Edmonds; the Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, who gave the invocation; and Byron E. Lewis, chairman and CEO of UniWorld Group Inc. Jazz flutist Sherry Winston and her band provided entertainment.

Among the award presenters were Wallace S. Snyder, president and CEO of the American Advertising Federation; Valerie J. Graves, senior vice president and chief creative officer of UniWorld Group Inc.; Lori Stokes, news anchor for WABC TV; and Jeff Burns Jr., associate publisher of EBONY and senior vice president of Johnson Publishing Company.

In closing the luncheon program, Linda Johnson Rice said that superlatives are hardly sufficient to describe the honorees and their accomplishments. "We have honored women who are making an incredible difference in what we see, hear and think in the field of marketing and communications," she said. "Out standing is the word we have chosen to give voice to what they have done, and we honor their achievements."

Also honored were:

JULIE A. BAYLEY, vice president and director of media services, UniWorld Group Inc., started her career as a stand-up comic, but found advertising more fulfilling. For eight years she ran McCann-Erickson's media department in Perth, Western Australia. She also supervised the Nissan and Infiniti media business for TBWA/Chiat/Day, was director of broadcast planning for CNN's on-air network promotions, and media director for the entertainment division of Grey Worldwide Advertising.

RENETTA MCCANN, CEO, Starcom North America, is responsible for the largest office within Starcom MediaVest Group, which is among the top brand communication networks in the world. She plans and invests more than $4.3 billion in client dollars each year, and manages a workforce of more than 600 in the U.S. and Canada. She won an Advertising Age 2001 "Media Maven" Award, and has received numerous other accolades.

ANN PRICE, vice president and director of marketing for the Chisholm-Mingo Group, is an expert strategist on the multicultural market. At Chisholm-Mingo, she develops media campaigns for Amtrak, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Denny's, United States Postal Service, General Motors, U.S. Navy, and other clients. Price previously held positions at Brainstorm Advertising and Scali, McCabe, Sloves.

ERICA C. BOWEN, product director for Johnson & Johnson, oversees ethnic marketing and has direct responsibility for more than $140 million in sales of the company's baby business, which includes baby shampoo, powder and oil. She also manages a multimillion-dollar advertising, promotion and trade marketing budget while leading the execution of national advertising campaigns.

KIMBERLEY CREWS GOODE, vice president of business planning and communications for the U.S. Consumer Group of Prudential Financial Inc., is responsible for internal communications, conference and meeting services, and leading the business management process for Prudential's largest business unit. She formerly served as head of communications for Prudential Investments and vice president of communications for the company's Financial Management Group.