Bozoma keeps busy
High-flyer Bozoma Saint John makes every second count.
Bozoma Saint John never planned to work in business – she expected to become a doctor. In fact, her dad still hopes she will, even though last year a magazine called Fortune named her the 14th most influential person under the age of 40 in the world.
Saint John works at Uber, as its chief brand officer. Uber is a company that allows people to book taxis via an app. Saint John’s job is to make the company look as good as possible, and inspire “loyalty and happiness” in its customers. The company is going through a difficult patch, but she has been described as a “godsend”.
Saint John was born in the US, although her parents are Ghanaian and they returned to the west African country when she was a baby. Saint John’s father, a politician, was imprisoned after the military overthrew the government, and she returned to the US with her mother and sisters. Her father joined them later when he was freed.
At university, Saint John started holding large parties, inviting rappers to perform. She even invited Jay-Z, now a superstar, although she says not that many people turned up to the gig at the time. Now, she’s hobnobbing with superstars regularly, as she speeds from business meetings to hanging out with her young daughter to glamorous parties.
In fact, Saint John is so busy that she has to timetable her entire week – even toilet breaks. The secret, she says, is to “care about every minute”. She’s determined to squeeze everything she can out of life, all the more since her husband, the father of her daughter, passed away in 2013. “That’s why I want to do everything right now,” she says.
She works hard, but she’s also dedicated to her family. If Saint John has to work at the weekend, her daughter Lael comes with her. That might sound boring, but it rarely is – Saint John’s work takes her to events like the MTV Music Video Awards.
Despite her success, her father still worries she’s not a doctor. “Don’t you think you need something to fall back on?” he says.