Don't Sleep on Rediate Tekeste, or Her Squad
The senior brand director on building strong teams, and seeing your heritage through your own eyes
Rediate Tekeste dabbled in a lot of jobs before advertising roped her in, but turns out she was dreaming of this career as a tiny youth. She takes us through that windy path. We also talk about the familiar dichotomy of being the only Black person in the room yet having to speak on behalf of millions, and how encouraging direct reports can act as a mirror: “I should be also saying this to myself!” Plus, we talk about how Black women are underpaid, group texts as therapy, and marketers’ emotional response to content. Did I mention she started a nonprofit for Ethiopian-Americans? Y’all, this conversation is chock full, so just get in here.
Black Tea is a video series that exists to make the independent voices of our fellow Black adwomen louder in the industry. If you identify as a Black woman in advertising and you’d like to be interviewed, please fill out this self-submission form. For questions about the show, please get in touch. Note: We do not currently take interviewee nominations or recommendations from agencies or third parties.