Apple Music global marketing executive Bozoma Saint John gave a brief interview at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday where she spoke about how self-confidence was crucial in her rise to prominence at Cupertino.

Known as "Boz" to her friends, Saint John joined the Apple team when the company acquired Beats Music in 2014. After her fun and memorable on-stage demonstration of the new Apple Music features at WWDC 2016 – not to mention her appearance in a recent Apple Music ad alongside senior Apple VP Eddy Cue – she has since become the recognized "head diva" for Apple's music services.

Bozoma_Saint_John
Emigrating from Ghana to Colorado at the age of 13, Saint John told technology reporter Leena K Rao that her height for such a young age and her skin color made it all but impossible to hide amongst her peers, but it taught her early on the importance of self-confidence.

"I couldn't hide, there wasn't a choice to do that," Saint John said. "So the choice was do you try to do what everybody else was doing? I couldn't be blond, I couldn't be white. I just couldn't be anything else, and so it meant that I had to become just all of everything that I have."


The experience of moving to the U.S. as a child meant that she embraced who she was early on, she said, which helped put her on course for success, beginning at Pepsi, moving on to join Beats, and now finding herself at Apple. At 13, she said she learned what it meant to walk into a room and "not care when everybody else turned around" and looked at you. "And here I am," she said.

Top Rated Comments

Brookzy Avatar
95 months ago
Yep I'm sure the reason Apple hired her was to fill a diversity quota. Nothing to do with the fact that she already excelled in her career and was in an existing executive role at Beats pre-takeover. :rolleyes:
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ck2875 Avatar
95 months ago
She's so powerful that you could even hear the crickets trying to rap along to Sugarhill Gang when she tried to get the developers to "rap along" at WWDC.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
95 months ago
Oh Lordy. First of all she is NOT playing any kind of victim. How on earth did anyone get that impression?

Any women on this thread? Okay here it is from a woman's perspective...girls in most cultures, but even our allegedly progressive western one, are generally not encouraged to stick out from the crowd too much, but be a part of it. Oh, sure we may pay lip service to empowering girls and encouraging their individuality. But as a woman myself and the mother and aunt to girls, I can say when a girl actually does try to make some waves or be a lone wolf who dances to the beat of her own drum, a lot of the attention that comes her way is negative. Some of it subtle, some not so subtle.

In terms of appearances, tall women get mixed messages. On the one hand they are encouraged to be or are compared to fashion models if they are attractive. If they are not conventionally attractive but just really tall, they get some unflattering comments and nicknames. I say this as someone barely over five feet tall who has seen what my tall sisters put up with.

Ms. Saint John is merely stating that she arrived to the US from Ghana with her obvious racial and cultural and physical differences forcing her to stand out in a society where women are subtly encouraged to blend in and run in packs. She is saying there was never an option of blending in or fitting in. So she had to work with what she had and defy conventional expectations for what makes a woman able to navigate our society and just power her way through as her unique self. Some seem bent on interpreting this as hubris. I see it as truth.

The fact that she's where she's at despite being so very different is very inspiring. I think she can also inspire boys and young men who are also different and unique. Any successful person can inspire anybody if they find a message that resonates with others.

She was not a "diversity hire", as was already pointed out here. And why on earth is it that whenever we see a woman or a minority in a position of power and influence do we automatically assume on this forum that they were hired for their race or gender and not credentials or education or accomplishments?

Conversely there are so many incompetent and ineffective white male executives out there...why does no one ever think to question how such berks ended up at the levels they attained?

Don't get your knickers in a twist when people cry "white privilege" if your knee jerk reaction to seeing a successful woman or minority is to scream "diversity hire."
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miknos Avatar
95 months ago
Another victim of "white oppression" who benefit from everything that the "white men" invented. Show some gratitude instead of perpetuating racism.

It doesn't matter how good she is. Articles like this makes her look like she's there to fill quotas. Specially all this "diversity" campaign.

What about showing her achievements instead of playing victim?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
95 months ago
Puke. Sums up why Apple are losing it - focussed on all the wrong things. I mean, "head diva" ffs.
It's pretty obviously a casual nickname, but I wonder, do you have the same reaction to the years of "Hair Force One" jokes, or is his coiffure sufficiently, shall we say, non-curly for your tastes?
[doublepost=1480517923][/doublepost]
Can't help but think she was hired, in large part, because she's black. When I hear her speak I'm not overly impressed. Apple would, unconsciously, make a hire like this due to their PC nature.
Even a tiny amount of research into her background and role prior to Apple would explain why she has her job, but it's much easier for you to imply that she's not qualified because she don't speak the way you like.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
95 months ago
I hate to bring up an overused line, but I really don't think Steve would have embraced giving someone a "head diva" role on the team while he was steering the ship.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
M3 iPad Feature 3

New iPads Likely to Begin Shipping in April

Monday March 18, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...