In honor of Black History Month, we here at AfroTech, wish to recognize the efforts of Black scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs. Throughout history, Black American accomplishments have revolutionized not only our country but the world at large. While there are many more, here are 28 Black pioneers in science, technology, and business today you should know about:
Asmau Ahmed, Founder of PlumPerfect
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Asmau Ahmed is a Senior Strategist that has led corporate strategy and digital innovation for established and emergent organizations in a number of industries including financial services, and consumer retail. She thrives on identifying and growing (digital) companies that have the power to transform the way everyday people do everyday things. With experience in both corporate and entrepreneurial leadership, she has honed her skills in assessing the business viability and risk profile and in leading innovation in enterprise, finance, and technology.
Sheena Allen, Founder and CEO of CapWay
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Angela Benton, Founder and CEO of Streamlytics
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Angela Benton is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Streamlytics, which uses first-party media consumption data to bring transparency to what people are streaming on today’s most popular streaming services while helping consumers own their data in the process.
Stacy Brown-Philpot, Former CEO of TaskRabbit and Founding Member of SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund
Loved chatting about how @TaskRabbit creates a personalized experience for each client and Tasker on our network, ensuring they can build their go-to team for all of life’s everyday tasks #NRF2019 pic.twitter.com/txtjPMuUqy
— Stacy Brown-Philpot (@sbp04) January 14, 2019
Stacy Brown-Philpot is the former CEO of TaskRabbit, a member of the Board of Directors of HP Inc and Nordstrom, and a board member for Black Girls Code. She is also on the investment committee of SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund, a $100mm fund established to invest in Black, Latinx, and Native American founders. This fund was started in partnership with two other 2016 Henry Crown Fellows, Marcelo Claure and Paul Judge.
Kimberly Bryant, Founder & Executive Director of Black Girls Code
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Ralph Clark, President and CEO of ShotSpotter, Inc.
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Ralph Clark has lead ShotSpotter since 2010 and is dedicated to helping law enforcement agencies provide equal protection for at-risk, underserved neighborhoods, reducing gun violence, and restoring police as trusted guardians of the community. Clark led the transformation of ShotSpotter to a SaaS-based business model ultimately taking the company public in 2017.
Jasmine Crowe, Founder and CEO of Goodr
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Jasmine Crowe is a social entrepreneur who founded Goodr Co., a platform providing a secure ledger that tracks an organization’s surplus food from pickup to donation, delivering real-time social and environmental impact reporting analytics, to combat hunger.
Charles Phillips, Former President and CEO of Infor, Inc.
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Charles Phillips is the former CEO/Chairman of Infor and President of Oracle and was Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and served on its board. He currently serves on the boards of American Express, ViacomCBS, Compass, the Council of Foreign Relations. He is the Chairman of the Apollo Theater. He is also the Co-Chair and Co-founder of the Black Economic Alliance.
Guy Primus, Founder and CEO of The Virtual Reality Co.
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Guy Primus is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Virtual Reality Company (VRC), a market leader in the production and distribution of cinematic Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality content. Guy’s co-founders in VRC include two-time Oscar winner Robert Stromberg, who directed Disney’s Maleficent, and Chris Edwards, the CEO of previsualization studio The Third Floor.
Kareem Yusuf, General Manager, Watson IoT at IBM Corp.
https://twitter.com/kareemyusuf/status/1006629578192900098?s=20
Kareem Yusuf is the General Manager of Watson Internet of Things, an IBM Business Unit focused on providing solutions that harness the power of IoT to provide insights, intelligence, and innovation that help clients transform their business.
While this list is by no means comprehensive, it is reflective of the scope of Blacks in technology and entrepreneurship today. Standing on the shoulders of such giants as Lewis Howard Latimer and Marie Van Brittan Brown, these executives, entrepreneurs, and innovators are leveraging science and technology to improve people’s lives, break barriers, and build wealth.
We salute these and all Black men and women working in the tech sector not just during this Black History Month but throughout the year.
