A Kenyan-born woman, Caroline Wanga, was on Tuesday, February 9 officially appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essence Communications Inc. , the US media and technology firm behind iconic magazine Essence.
Essence magazine targets African-American women, and is one of the largest black-owned publications in the country. Wanga had been serving as CEO in an acting capacity for the past seven months.
Wanga was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1978 and only moved to Minnesota in the United States 10 years later.
She joined Essence Ventures, parent company of ESSENCE, as Chief Growth Officer in 2020. Wanga was previously the Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Target Corporation.
On her website, Wanga describes herself as “a self-proclaimed cultural architect with particular passion for constructing, deconstructing, and reconstructing organizational culture.”
She also works as a thought leader and inspirational speaker, with her messages often centred on authenticity.
“Who you are is non-negotiable,” Wanga states.
Before finding her footing in the highest echelons of the US corporate world, Wanga made her mark in the non-profit sector.
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She has received several accolades, including being named Top Executive in Corporate Diversity by Black Enterprise and being recognized at Savoy Most Powerful Women in Corporate America.
Wanga holds several other leadership roles in different institutions. She is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the Talladega College Board of Trustees and the American Airlines Community Council.
She previously served on Twitter’s Intersectionality, Culture, and Diversity Advisory Board and was the co-chair of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Diversity & Inclusion Initiative.
Wanga is the holder of a degree in Business Administration from Texas College, a historically black institution.
As Essence CEO, she will be responsible for shaping the company’s future as the company looks to maximize on opportunities in new media technologies.
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