CNN’s Don Lemon talks with WNBA President Laurel Richie, the first African-American ever to run a professional sports league. Richie was named president of the WNBA on April 21, 2011, and she assumed her role on May 16th, 2011.
Before becoming president of the WNBA, Richie served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. Prior to working at the Girl Scouts, Richie worked at Leo Burnett Worldwide, an advertising agency based in Chicago, from 1981-1983, where she worked on a host of Procter and Gamble brands. In 1984, she moved to Ogilvy and Mather, where she spent more than two decades building brands for blue chip clients including American Express, Pepperidge Farm and Unilever, among others. She continues to work with Ogilvy as a founding member of its Diversity Advisory Board, supporting efforts to attract and retain top talent.
Richie is a recipient of the YMCA Black Achiever’s Award and Ebony magazine’s Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications. In April 2011, was named one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal. Richie attended Dartmouth College.
Watch the interview below:
