The Top 100 People Of Color in Media: Part 3: 80-71
From creators to executives, from technicians to producers, the world of media and entertainment offers thousands of professions that cross and merge, giving the people that work in it the opportunity to fully discover how creative potential and business acumen often overlap. It is fascinating to study the careers of some of these people, thus understanding which opportunities they were able to seize and when did “the right moment” happen. This is why A Hot Set has compiled a list of “The Top 100 People of Color In Media”, a weekly series that for ten Mondays will explore a hundred of the most influential POCs in the entertainment industry. Below are numbers from 80 to 71, and you can find the previous article here. Stay tuned for next Monday’s list!
DeShuna Spencer - Kweli TV
80. DeShuna Spencer: DeShuna Spencer is a former journalist and radio host turned social impact executive. Her work focuses on the relationship between media images and unconscious bias. She frequently lectures on media representation, diversity in the streaming and OTT markets, social entrepreneurship, the consequences of Black trauma content, media landscape issues and opportunities, establishing a media tech firm, women in media & tech, and her path as a Black founder. Spencer claims she got the idea for kweliTV one evening while surfing through cable channels many years ago. She was annoyed by the "same tired stereotypes, lack of diversity in TV shows and movies, as well as the few choices of content that focused on issues important to me." Spencer felt disconnected from the lives and stories of Black people in other parts of the world. As such, kweliTV, or Kweli for short, is Spencer’s effort to curate and create content that reflects the black experience.
Kweli, named after the Swahili word for “truth,” is a Black-owned media company whose mission is to be a catalyst for change, connect communities, and sparks activism through storytelling. Kweli celebrates global Black stories and amplifies Black storytellers from North America, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The organization curates and creates content as “a reflection of the global Black experience that’s oftentimes missing in traditional media.” Kweli aims to empower and serve filmmakers and content creators by providing them with a medium where their content can gain exposure while also receiving compensation for being on the platform. The organization’s website claims to lead a business model built around shifting the Black narrative, helping to dismantle implicit bias, and increasing the visibility and economic inclusion among Black creatives.
Aurora Mohler - Olympusat
79. Aurora Mohler: As Chief Content Officer for Olympusat, Aurora Mohler oversees the company’s content acquisition, its content distribution, and plays a critical role in the development and strategy of Olympusat’s products in the U.S. and Latin America. Mohler has over 23 years of international experience in content acquisition, business development, strategic planning, and international negotiations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Before joining Olympusat, Mohler was employed by Blue Stone Management where she led the firm in executing its international expansion while engaging property owners, developers, and global retailers like Shin Kong Place, Apple, XpresSpa, Paradies, MTR, DFS through Asia-Pacific and the United States. She represented the firm as part of volunteer leadership committees in trade associations such as the International Council of Shopping Centers. Mohler also worked as a director and spokesperson for Altus Group Latin America, developing business opportunities in valuation, portfolio management, and development consulting services throughout Latin America.
Olympusat is a vertically integrated distributor and owner of Spanish and English-language pay-TV channels in the U.S. and Latin America. They operate top-rated channels and manage an ever-growing HD global content library. Olympusat has expanded into the OTT and CTV sector with FreeTV and FAST channels, establishing distribution partnerships with MVPDs in the U.S. and all major OTT platforms in the U.S. and Latin America. The company also offers technical and management functions for operating and distributing television networks, brands, and products. Olympusat’s networks reach over 70 million homes in the U.S. with cost-effective opportunities that provide turn-key solutions utilizing the latest technology with numerous network delivery methods through Satellite, Fiber, and Point to Point via IP.
Will Kim and Eric Wei - Linkedin
78. Eric Wei and Will Kim (Co-Founders): Eric Wei and Will Kim co-founded Karat Financial in 2019 with the goal of becoming the point-of-reference bank in the creator economy. The real financial value of being able to reach a vast subscriber base is very difficult to assess in traditional ways, especially when the number (and engagement) of the followers is rapidly growing. Karat provides creators with exactly that: the opportunity to monetize their following by taking an innovative approach to traditional banking solutions, such as getting a higher limit on a line of credit based on the inclusion of the subscriber base into the underwriting process. The startup has already raised over $30 million in funding from Y Combinator and Union Square Ventures.
Both co-founders showcase exceptional careers. After a MS in Computer Science from Stanford, Will Kim started his career working as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, and later became an investor at Lucky Capital, raising a $5 million seed fund for a portfolio of companies that went on to raise $100 million in later rounds. Thanks to his work with Karat, he also figures in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list of 2021. Eric Wei, after earning a BA in Economics at Harvard, worked both for Blackstone and as a consultant at McKinsey, and then went on to be a Product Manager first at Facebook and later at Instagram. Their combined knowledge of the financial and entertainment industries made it possible for them to identify the need for an effective banking solution in the new creator economy, thus leading them to found Karat.
Bonin Bough, Travis Montaque, and Richelieu Dennis - Robin L Marshall / Stringer / Arturo Holmes
77. Travis Montaque, Bonin Bough, and Richelieu Dennis (Co-Founders): Group Black is a collective dedicated to expanding the pipeline of Black-owned media enterprises that value diversity in their organizations and viewers. The organization argues that the Black-owned media industry is in its infancy and that more investment and opportunities are needed. Assisting in this endeavor is the reason Group Black was formed. Group Black Media also strives to provide content and experiences to advertisers through unique, high-performing methods of connecting with customers.
Travis Montaque is the founder and CEO of Group Black and Holler Studios, which is a full-service animation production studio and creative agency. He recently established and founded Crater, a creator network that drives next-generation culture. Montaque was named in Forbes 30 Under 30, Adweek's Media Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur magazine's Most Daring Entrepreneurs, CSQ’s NextGen 10, and led Holler to Fast Company's 2020 Most Innovative Companies List and Group Black to Fast Company's 2023 Most Innovative Companies List.
Bonin Bough is Group Black's co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer. Bough is a well-regarded marketing executive in the industry. He has worked with multibillion-dollar consumer goods companies such as Mondelez and PepsiCo. Bough has led some of the most successful organizational reforms and the quick expansion of well-known billion-dollar companies such as Oreo, Cadbury's, Gatorade, and Frito-Lay. His efforts earned him a place in the Advertising Hall of Fame. Bough is also a published author and CNBC television host.
Richelieu Dennis is a Liberian refugee who made his fortune creating the hugely popular beauty companies, Shea Moisture, Sundial, and other consumer products. He is a social investor who launched the New Voices Fund, a $100M fund used to invest in businesses owned by black women. Dennis serves as Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board at Group Black.
Rahul Purini - Jun Sato
76. Rahul Purini: Rahul Purini is the president and CEO of the anime streaming platform Crunchyroll. Before this, Purini spearheaded Crunchyroll's strategic day-to-day operations as its COO, including e-commerce, production studios, content programming, business intelligence, analytics, and other functions. Purini joined Funimation in 2015 and led the company's growth in global expansion and subscription base before its merger with Sony in 2019 and later with Crunchyroll in 2022. He previously served as vice president of solution delivery at the global digital agency Razorfish. He was also head of technology and operations for digital agency MEplusYOU (formerly imc2). Purini has earned industry awards from Forrestor and Forbes for his team's work at Pizza Hut, Procter & Gamble, and GlaxoSmithKline.
Crunchyroll is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment in the United States and Aniplex in Japan, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. Both are the subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation. Crunchyroll offers a subscription video-on-demand streaming service that predominantly broadcasts East Asian films and television episodes, particularly Japanese anime. Crunchyroll's ten million+ paying customers get access to over 1,000 anime series, more than 200 East Asian dramas, and over 80 manga titles as of 2022. It is currently the world's largest anime streaming service and one of the top streaming firms in the United States.
Aisha Summers-Burke - Emma McIntyre
75. Aisha Summers-Burke: Founded in 2021 as the production arm of BET, a unit of Paramount Global, BET Studios is led by Aisha Summers-Burke as its EVP and Head of Creative. In an interview with Insider, Burke recalls how she grew up watching BET, and always had wanted to work there. Her career started as a talent agent but was soon able to switch path and work as an assistant in the Programming division of WarnerMedia, which later led her to becoming VP of Scripted Television for the cable and streaming division of Warner Horizon.
BET Studios, financed by BET and Paramount Global, produces content both internally and for third-party platforms. Burke is responsible of day-to-day operations, BET Studios’ content slate, and also the growth of its production output. When the launch of the production division was first announced, Burke stated that “as a company with its origin in Black entrepreneurship, we are incredibly excited to create the first major studio to provide Black creators with ownership.”
Nina Yang Bongiovi - Anna Webber / Stringer
74. Nina Yang Bongiovi: Nina Yang Bongiovi is an Asian American film producer who has worked in creative development, film finance, and physical production. Bongiovi founded the AUM Group with key figures from the film and technology industries, with the goal of acquiring and developing intellectual property and supporting multicultural films. Gold House chairman Bing Chen, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, and Bongiovi's Significant Productions partner Michael Chow, whom she co-founded with award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, are among AUM's other co-founders. Critically acclaimed films directed by people of color, such as Fruitvale Station, Sorry to Bother You, and Songs My Brother Taught Me, have been produced by Significant Productions.
The AUM Group is a premier multicultural film fund that develops and acquires creative IP, finances multicultural motion pictures, and invests in the next generation of storytellers devoted to reshaping culture. As a subsidiary of AU Holdings, the AUM Group joins a family of companies that incubates and invests in multicultural creators, companies, and communities that rebalance socioeconomic equity. The group is currently helmed by acclaimed producer Nina Yang Bongiovi. Bongiovi believes that the purpose of the film fund is to tell diverse stories and make films “not about people of color suffering.”
charles cantu - Reset Digital
73. Charles Cantu: Charles Cantu founded Reset Digital in 2018 with the goal of a company that could help brands reach all their diverse target audiences, taking into consideration the nuances that make the difference in the effectiveness of the communication. He discovered his passion for the world of advertisement and ad tech after working for ABC Radio. He built and sold two other digital marketing companies, as well as working for more than twenty years in media, building an impressive experience at companies like Comcast and Disney.
Reset Digital is an advertising platform that uses neuro-programmatic advertising: audience segments are not targeted based on a demographical evaluation, but rather on the emotional value of the content that they have already consumed and engaged with. Reset Digital is currently working with companies of the likes of Verizon, Procter & Gamble, and General Motors to make their advertising inclusive and capillary. Cantu’s company is also leading the Universal Inclusion initiative, as it shares 3% of all revenues with NABOB (National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters) and other organizations that support the inclusion of diversity in media ownership.
Jordan Fudge - Sinai Capital
72. Jordan Fudge: Jordan Fudge is a producer and founder of New Slate Ventures (NSV), a film and television finance fund designed to develop and produce inclusive and intersectional material tailored for diverse audiences. NSV’s slate includes The 40-Year-Old Version, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and The 24th. Fudge is also the founder and managing partner of Sinai Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in software and technology companies at all stages of development with more than 80 portfolio companies. Fudge began his career working in digital strategy at 20th Century Fox Television before leaving to lead the technology investments strategy at a multibillion-dollar family office. Fudge was in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for 2020. In February 2019, he joined the board of GLAAD and entered the Metropolitan Opera’s board of directors.
Sinai Ventures and NSV are encompassed by Sinai Capital Partners, a multi-strategy private equity company. Sinai Ventures has managed to raise $500M to continue investing in software and technology companies, while NSV added $100M to support diverse and innovative voices across film and television. NSV’s latest project was serving as a production partner for Insignia Films’ Free Money. The announcement was ahead of the documentary feature’s world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
Kaitlyn Yang - Alpha Studios
71. Kaitlyn Yang: Kaitlyn Yang is the founder of Alpha Studios, a California-based post-production company that offers services of visual effects, motion graphics, color grading, and on set supervision. She figured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment” in 2018, as she founded Alpha Studios in 2013 after graduating from the University of Southern California’s animation program. The company has worked on renowned titles such as American Born Chinese and Grey’s Anatomy.
In 2021, she also found 1IN4 Coalition, a non-profit focused on the representation and inclusion of disabled people in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera. Yang is particularly close to the cause as she herself suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, which bounds her to a wheelchair. In an interview with Women In Animation, she recalls that when she was back in China, her parents would take her from doctor to doctor to understand the origin of her disability, and sketching and coloring were her “safety blanket” during that time. When her family moved to the US when she was nine, she had access to a greater level of education, and decided to follow the path of her passion by attending USC Film School.