Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lesley Pinckney. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lesley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

While serving as the GM of Essence.com (2007-2011), it was clear that despite a growing interest in brands supporting Black-owned media companies like Essence, it wasn’t matched with spending. Often, a lack of culturally relevant assets prevented media buys. Despite the church and state editorial process at Time Inc., I secured an exception to allow our editorial video team to create branded content. We built paid content franchises with some of our biggest clients several months before any other publishers like the NYT, Conde Nast, Meredith, Hearst, even began their studios.

We did a 3-family microseries at the Disney parks and a tour with Black Women Entrepreneurs for Amex, amongst others. This kept us profitable and provided value at Essence that our competitors couldn’t deliver.

Lesley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always been a people person – I find people fascinating and want to understand their motivations and behaviors. This curiosity has really informed my entire career; I like to say, “Solving customer pain points is a trend that never goes out of style”.

This relentless pursuit of people or customer truths has allowed me to have a successful career in media, entertainment, advertising agencies, and now technology. Throughout my career, I’ve filled the gaps in traditional media targeting Black Women and native Caribbean natives or help Target better correlate the effectiveness of their influencer marketing to their traditional channels. I currently lead marketing for Intel’s vision+AI division, and it’s been fascinating to market AI-enhanced products. As the leader of a small marketing team, my impact on marketing AI tools has been tremendous.

I also believe that it’s essential to bring your entire self to work, and as a black queer mother standing in my truth is a BIG part of my brand.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Individual performance matters. The skills that got me to management are the exact opposite of those that are vital for a good manager.

On my way up the ladder, I outworked, out volunteered, and steamrolled peers in pursuit of a “hardworking, rising star” brand.

Once I became a manager, I was like, “Oh Shit….different ball game.”

Great managers and organizations are all about people, process, and focusing on team outcomes rather than personal accolades.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Before 9/11 I was working in Web 1.0, after 9/11 and the demise of Toys.com (among others), I realized that the industry had some structural challenges that would prevent it’s growth. Right after 9/11 I pivoted to event production (I -was backpacking in China after my latest start-up was shuttered, got back to NYC, sister got me a gig working on the Micheal Jackson concert on 9/10 and was indelibly tied to the production).

This one concert gig catapulted me into live event production, and ultimately television until I decided to return to tech.

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lpinckney/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/1222928800?si=a5717e35648e4d16

Image Credits

Genia – Noah & Jade Photography
CJ Foeckler – GMR Photography
Lesley Pinckney – Personal Photos