Bozoma Saint John facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bozoma Saint John
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Bozoma Saint John at Essence Festival of Culture July 2025
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| Born |
Bozoma A. Arthur
January 21, 1977 Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Other names | "Boz" |
| Education | Wesleyan University (BA) |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Television | The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills |
| Spouse(s) |
Peter Saint John
(m. 2003; died 2013) |
| Children | 1 |
Bozoma "Boz" Saint John (born January 21, 1977) is an American-Ghanaian businessperson and a top marketing executive. She is known for working with some of the world's biggest companies. From 2020 to 2022, she was the chief marketing officer (CMO) at Netflix, where she was in charge of how the company advertised its shows and movies.
Before Netflix, she was the chief brand officer (CBO) at Uber and the CMO at the entertainment company Endeavor. She also led marketing for Apple Music after Apple bought the music service Beats Music. She started her career at PepsiCo, where she created exciting marketing campaigns involving music and entertainment. In May 2021, Leading Ladies Africa named her one of the Top 50 Most Influential Female Leaders in Africa.
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Early Life and Education
Bozoma Saint John was born in Middletown, Connecticut, to her parents, Rev. Dr. Appianda Arthur and Aba Arthur. Her father was a clarinet player in the Ghana Army before he moved to the United States for school. When Bozoma was just six months old, her family moved to Ghana.
Her family moved between different countries, including Kenya and the United States, before settling in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when she was 12. She has said that her father is her "biggest inspiration."
In 1999, Saint John graduated from Wesleyan University with degrees in English and African-American studies. Her father also earned his PhD from Wesleyan in 1977 in ethnomusicology, which is the study of music from different cultures. Her sister, Alua Arthur, is a lawyer and a death doula.
Career Journey
Marketing at Top Companies
After college, Saint John began her career in advertising. She worked for agencies like Arnold Worldwide and Spike DDB, which was founded by famous director Spike Lee. She also worked for the fashion brand Ashley Stewart.
In 2005, she joined PepsiCo and worked her way up to become the head of music and entertainment marketing. She was known for connecting Pepsi with popular music festivals. After nearly ten years at PepsiCo, she joined Beats Music in 2014.
Soon after she joined, Apple bought Beats Music. Saint John then became the head of global consumer marketing for iTunes and Apple Music. She became famous after a presentation at the 2016 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. People were amazed by her energy and passion on stage. BuzzFeed even called her the "coolest" person to ever present at an Apple event.
In 2017, Saint John became the chief brand officer at Uber. A year later, she left to become the chief marketing officer at Endeavor. She explained that she wanted to help create a better environment at Uber but found it very challenging. She said, "It became a good lesson for all of us: You don't need to be the savior, you can save yourself too."
On June 30, 2020, Netflix announced that Saint John would be their new chief marketing officer. This made her the first Black C-level executive at Netflix, which is one of the highest leadership roles in a company. She left Netflix in March 2022.
Writing and Other Projects
In 2020, Saint John started a podcast with journalist Katie Couric called "Back to Biz with Katie and Boz." At first, they talked about how businesses were dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, the podcast also covered important topics like social justice.
Saint John also wrote a book called The Urgent Life, which was published in February 2023. In the book, she shares stories about her life, her career, losing her husband, and being a single mother.
In 2021, she taught a special class for business students at Harvard Business School. In May 2024, it was announced that she had joined the cast of the TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Activism and Charity Work
Saint John is passionate about making a positive change in the world. She helped create an Instagram project called #ShareTheMicNow. For this project, Black women took over the Instagram accounts of famous white women for a day. This helped bring attention to the important work that Black women are doing.
She also supports several charities. She is a Global Ambassador for Pencils of Promise, which builds schools in countries like Ghana. She also serves on the boards of Girls Who Code, which helps girls learn computer science, and Vital Voices, an organization that supports women leaders.
In May 2022, Saint John was honored by being inducted into the American Marketing Association Marketing Hall of Fame.
Personal Life
Saint John was married to Peter Saint John from 2003 until he passed away in 2013. They have one daughter named Lael.
Awards and Honors
- 2015: Billboard, Top Women in Music
- 2016: Billboard, Female Executive of the Year
- 2016: Fortune, 40 Under 40
- 2017: Henry Crown Fellow in the Aspen Institute
- Ad Age, 50 Most Creative People, Innovators & Stars 40 Under 40 feature
- Adweek, Most Exciting Personalities in Advertising
- Ebony, 100 Powerful Executives
- Fast Company, 100 Most Creative People
- Fortune, Disruptors
- Top 100 Most Inspirational Women of the Year by Glitz Africa Magazine
