It's not too late for goal setting
or other new beginnings.
Good Monday Morning - it’s February 1st. Here’s the SWIRL.
🌀Tech: Goal setting: no more Reddit or Gamestop news
🌀Business: Walgreens has something Brewing
🌀Politics: A taste of Gumbo & Diplomacy
If this is your first SWIRL, keep reading this part. If you’ve been here before, carry on to the content. Welcome, new swirlers! Here’s a brief reader guide for you: the three teasers above will unfurl below to briefly cover buzzy developments in their respective areas. You’ll read a little about each one. At the end of the SWIRL, we’ll pull on a common thread among them all and explore what it might mean for us.
Goal setting: no more Reddit or Gamestop news
After a wild week on Wall Street, a lot of us would be A-OK with a break from hearing about Reddit, Gamestop, and the like. So, here’s our well-earned break. This week’s tech story does involve financial technology (or as the cool kids say, ‘fintech’), but it’s much more wholesome than hedge-funds and crass subreddits. In 2018, a former Nickelodeon exec launched ‘Goalsetter,’ a financial literacy and banking app aimed at kids, specifically Black youth. Founder and CEO Tanya Van Court was inspired by her daughter.
…one day, my 8-year old daughter said, “Mommy for my 9th birthday, I really only want two things: enough money to save for an investment account, and a bike.” In that moment, I thought, “If I can get every kid to say that, I can change the world.”
Van Court recently announced that Goalsetter has recruited some significant support in pursuing that goal. Last week, NBA 🏀 stars, Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) and Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns) teamed up with billionaire businessman Robert F. Smith to accelerate Goalsetter’s trajectory by investing $3.9 million. The seed funding will help expand the mobile app and attract new users to the technology.
While we’ve all been out here wondering if a failing video game company is going to withstand another week of short-selling shenanigans, Goalsetter has been netting financial support to change the game by educating youth about the advantages of financial responsibility. Some on Wall Street and Reddit might want to check out 👀 the app…
Walgreens has something Brewing
Conventional wisdom might lead you to assume that healthcare players could have unique opportunities to sustain - or maybe even thrive - during a global health crisis. So far, Walgreens has unfortunately defied that wisdom. The pandemic has opened up several lines of attack against the pharmacy chain:
Expanded services offered by competitor CVS
A massive, new entrant into the pharmacy market: Amazon
These converging pressures have left Walgreens playing catch-up and dealing with another quarter of multi-million dollar losses and the upcoming departure of its CEO Stefano Pessina. But there’s a plan and her name is Roz Brewer.
In March, Walgreens will install Brewer as its chief executive after she ends a four-year run as the chief operating officer at Starbucks (yes, her last name is Brewer and she’s the COO for a coffee company - it makes me smile so much). Later this month, Brewer will exit the Seattle-based coffee giant where she led marketing, technology, supply chain, product innovation (🦄 frap-is that you, Roz?) and store development. Prior to Starbucks, she held executive roles at Walmart and Kimberly-Clark, and she sits on the board of directors at Amazon; she previously served on Lockheed-Martin’s board. Brewer also chairs the board of trustees at Spelman College.
Although we haven’t yet heard from Brewer about her priorities as Walgreen’s incoming CEO, the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine across its 21,000 locations in the US and UK will be critical to the chain’s success. If Brewer’s background is any indicator of Walgreen’s prospects, the company has a bright future.
A taste of Gumbo & Diplomacy
America will soon have a new ambassador to the United Nations. In November of 2020, then incoming Biden administration announced Linda Thomas-Greenfield as its pick for the top UN posting. Last Wednesday, she sat before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to begin her official nomination hearing. She was introduced by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who has pointed to her 35-year career in the foreign service as exemplary qualifications for the role. During the hearing, Republicans questioned the nominee over her position on the threats China poses to US and international security.
If approved, the new ambassador will play a crucial part in reshaping the nation’s strategy for international engagement as the Biden administration seeks to boost global partnerships over the next four years. On that approach, Biden said: “America is strongest when it works with our allies.” Thomas-Greenfield will sprinkle her own seasoning on that approach with her self-styled “Gumbo Diplomacy,” which has been described as her ‘Cajun spice” on connecting with people to solve problems. Thomas-Greenfield’s official approval from the Senate could come as early as this Wednesday. While you wait for the vote, I suggest spicing up your week with her actual gumbo recipe.
The SWIRL
So, how do these stories swirl together? Each of them revolves around a woman of color leading. In a nod to the first day of Black History Month, we’re taking a look at Black women who are making history today with some notable firsts.
Tanya Van Court is the first Black woman to lead a fintech focused on kids
Roz Brewer will be the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company
Linda Thomas-Greenfield will be the first Black woman to serve as US Ambassador to the UN
Corporate America and the Biden administration continue to face warranted calls for more diverse voices in leading roles. Van Court, Brewer, and Thomas-Greenfield might be representing some early answers to that call. How many more people of color follow in their footsteps is unclear. But it is clear that these women are abundantly qualified to lead the way. They’ve been doing just that for decades.
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Special Thanks!
As this second SWIRL wraps up, I want to acknowledge a few friends who helped out by providing feedback and ideas. They took time out of their day to help me and help SWIRL. I’m genuinely grateful for the advice! Big thanks to: Katie Barlow, Alex Mohajer, Josh McDonald, Paul Hamill, Jack Rayburn, Blake Mitchell, and Phil Reinhardt.
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