Business adviser and growth strategist Andrea Hoffman, CEO of management consulting firm Culture Shift
Labs, knows there’s some science
behind making relationships
work as she promotes growth and
innovation through inclusion.
“I jokingly tell people I have
a Ph.D. in chemistry for the
way we curate rooms,” she says.
”I’m really good at putting the
right people together to achieve
a certain kind of spark. Friend-ships are made, business deals are
done, collaborations are forged
with people who look like them
that are also influencers. My job
is to just facilitate the magic.”
Those skills were on display
in April at the third-annual
“Culture Shifting: A Weekend of
Innovation, Technology & Social
Impact” held in venues through-
out Silicon Valley. Hoffman, a
20-year veteran of the diversity
and inclusion space, invited more
than 300 innovators, leaders and
senior executives of color who
share the same vision.
Under the theme of “Building
Bridges, Not Walls,” the week
end highlighted executives and speakers from various industries
joined for a common mission.
”We’re really trying to perfect the
art and science of deal-making
and collaboration,” Hoffman
says. “People had a renewed
sense of inspiration – that was
the common theme – and a
renewed sense of focus.”
Events such as this are em-
powering for executives of color
to meet each other, network and
have fun, and they provide “a safe
space for that right connection.”
“A lot of times, they’re the only
ones in the room or at the table
in senior leadership roles,” Hoff-
man says, adding, “Even people
that are sometimes the only ones in the room, they forget there’s a
wider ecosystem like them.”
Of particular success was a
Social Innovation Think/Action Tank. “It was electric. It was
absolutely electric,” she says.
”The minute we called a break
they couldn’t wait to meet other
people and talk.”
Also of note was a breakfast
with millennial tech entrepre
neurs and influencers designed to
introduce rising stars to respect
ed industry leaders. “I wanted
to create a scenario where we’re
putting those next-generation
problem solvers in the room with
senior leaders as a way to expand
the work we’re doing to a younger
demographic but still include the
senior leaders.”
The weekend’s agenda featured
interviews with world-class innovators, panel discussions with
cutting-edge inventors, think
tank sessions and a VIP dinner
highlighted by a discussion on
tech and West Africa.
Friday’s Breakfast with Mil
lennial Tech Entrepreneurs
and Influencers, sponsored by SAP and Vista Equity Partners,
gathered 25 Latina and African-
American company founders and tech influencers to accelerate
collaborations between Millenni
als and corporate America. Lloyd
Carney made a surprise visit
and Maci Peterson explained the
source code for her app, On Sec
ond Thought, which allows users
to recall text and email messages.
She has raised more than $1.4
million to-date.
At Friday’s Fireside Chat on
the Future of Black Hollywood
and Tech, held at SAP, Luke Cage
showrunner Cheo Coker, and
The Virtual Reality Company
CEO Guy Primus, delved into the
ways business leaders and artists
impact global media, reach new audiences and develop fresh revenue streams. Primus, a Georgia
Tech alum and former COO of
Will Smith’s production company, Overbrook Entertainment,
has raised $25 million to date,
while Luke Cage has crushed
Netflix records.
Saturday’s Social Innovation
Think/Action Tank, produced in
partnership with Babson College
Social Innovation Lab, included
a curated group of C-suite execu-tives, entrepreneurs, innovators,
investors and influencers of
color, such as renowned CEEK
CEO Mary Spio; neurosurgeon
and Talamus Health CEO Dr.
Murisiku Raifu; and serial entrepreneur Clarence Wooten, who
demonstrated his new role model
app, STEAMroIe. Panelists and
attendees executed the theme of
Inclusive Entrepreneurship &
Innovation by transacting deals
in real-time.
Sunday’s Culture Shifting
Awards recognized African-
American leaders and pioneers
who broke barriers within their
fields and contributed to progress
for people of color in business
and society: Lloyd Carney, CEO of Brocade Communications Sys
tems; Pamela Joyner, business-
woman and art collector; Issac
Vaughn, CEO of Ooyala; and
Robin Washington, EVP/CFO of
Gilead Sciences, Inc. The honor
ees shared intimate stories about
their personal journeys and their
efforts to advance diversity and
inclusion.
Best-selling author and “CSI:
New York” actor Hill Harper
humorously hosted the awards
ceremony, stating afterward, “I
was proud to host the ceremony
for the second-consecutive year
because I share Culture Shifting’s
commitment to a diverse workforce and its mission to promote
an inclusive economy.”
Harper’s Manifest Your Des
tiny Foundation is dedicated to
empowering underserved youth
through mentorship, scholar
ship and grant programs. At
Saturday’s VIP dinner, Harper
forged a partnership between his
new skincare line and one of Mr.
Oyebode’s Nigerian companies.
Romanieo Golphin Jr., the
adorable 7-year-old physics
genius featured on “The Tonight
Show” for being both a CERN
and NASA ambassador, was one
of eight “Culture Shifters” who
spoke on stage.
Sponsors included Ford,
Salesforce, Vista Equity Partners,
Brocade, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Honeywell, Infor, Intel,
The Joyner/Guiffrida Collection,
Mercedes Benz, Ooyala, RBC
Royal Bank, Visa, The Williams
Capital Group, Apple, Donnel
ley Financial Solutions, Google,
eBay, Oracle, Ernst & Young,
HBO, SAP, Mot Hennessy USA,
Twilio and Uber. M
Third-Annual Culture Shifting Weekend Forges Partnerships
