Apple Music exec Bozoma Saint John joins Uber as chief brand officer

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in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
Bozoma Saint John, formerly the head of Global Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes, on Tuesday announced she is joining Uber as its new "chief brand officer."




"Quite frankly, what has happened in the past is nothing that I can control, but I do think there is a real opportunity for the future of Uber and what the vision is going to be," Saint John told Business Insider on Tuesday. "Having a real seat at the table to be able to do that is really important at this moment in time."

An immediate goal will be "changing the image of Uber and crafting what that brand story is," she added. "That hasn't been done yet."

Uber has suffered particularly bad publicity in 2017, linked to gaffes like operating during a taxi strike against President Trump's travel ban, using apps meant to undermine Lyft and avoid law enforcement, and the violation of App Store rules. It's on the defensive in a self-driving technology lawsuit by Waymo, and earlier today it reportedly fired 20 workers after an internal probe on harassment problems.

People have also long criticized Uber -- and many other ridesharing services -- for failing to pay people decent wages, or accept the same level of scrutiny as regular taxi companies.

Despite having been hired much earlier, Saint John first grabbed the public's attention at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference, appearing onstage to showcase a redesigned Apple Music. She has since become one of the more visible executives the service, with features in magazines and even advertising.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    jmey267jmey267 Posts: 57member
    Must have been a lot of money to go from Apple to the sinking ship of Uber
    StrangeDaysdysamoriadoozydozenbdkennedy1002calilostkiwibaconstang
  • Reply 2 of 31
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    Seeing how crooked Uber is, I am shocked to hear this news. Hopefully she always has an office at Apple, should she choose to come back.
    cornchipcalilostkiwitokyojimu
  • Reply 3 of 31
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Good for her.  
    She's the first non-dbag Uber exec.
    anomedysamoriadoozydozen
  • Reply 4 of 31
    wozwozwozwoz Posts: 263member
    I thought she was hopeless at the Apple presentations ... maybe she can do better elsewhere.
    tycho_macuser
  • Reply 5 of 31
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    The rumor was true. LOL. Good luck with that one, Boz.
    cornchipdoozydozenbaconstang
  • Reply 6 of 31
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    I hope this really is a case of seeing it as a challenge to change Uber for the better, and not just a money grab. If she's able to have an impact on their corporate culture, and save the brand from its apparent death spiral, she'll become some sort of tech branding legend, and never have to worry about finding work again.

    I just hope she has the sense to bail if they aren't able to correct things, so she doesn't get dragged down with them.
    dysamoriatgr1roundaboutnow
  • Reply 7 of 31
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Corporate culture clash? She didn’t fit in? 
  • Reply 8 of 31
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    wozwoz said:
    I thought she was hopeless at the Apple presentations ... maybe she can do better elsewhere.
    Yes because i'm sure you would have completely smoked your first insanely huge presentation on stage at WWDC. 

    Had any good radiation headaches today?
    edited June 2017 dysamoriadoozydozenmontrosemacspscooter63ronn
  • Reply 9 of 31
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    My suggestion to her is -- demand all payment in cash, no stock. And make sure the signing bonus is big enough that you never have to work again.
    dysamoriarobin huberlostkiwibaconstangtokyojimubestkeptsecret
  • Reply 10 of 31
    pujones1pujones1 Posts: 222member
    I didn't see that one coming. All money isn't good money. Maybe there's some big incentive like becoming CEO if she is saves the ship. 
    edited June 2017
  • Reply 11 of 31
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member

    An immediate goal will be "changing the image of Uber and crafting what that brand story is," she added. "That hasn't been done yet.".
    When I read this kind of cliche'd corporate bullshit I despair. It is insulting. In order to change the image and craft the story, the content has to change for it to have meaning. If everything remains the same at HQ but the image and story are re-imagined, re-crafted, re-evisioned, call it what the fuck you will, it is a loser proposition and an insult to all Uber customers, because everybody knows it is just lipstick on a pig. 
    StrangeDaysdoozydozencornchipmontrosemacspscooter63calistompyspliff monkeybaconstangtokyojimu
  • Reply 12 of 31
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    "She said one of the most powerful parts of Uber's story was the people and drivers who are the soul of the company."

    ...the drivers the CEO has sword to eliminate. Sounds like BS to me.
    cornchipbaconstangtokyojimu
  • Reply 13 of 31
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    Apple not only lost a Global Marketing exec they also lost their most glamours employee. All the best Boz.
  • Reply 14 of 31
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    pujones1 said:
    I didn't see that one coming. All money isn't good money. Maybe there's some big incentive like becoming CEO if she is saves the ship. 
    Seriously doubt that. She has zero experience in that area. She's a marketing person.
    tycho_macuser
  • Reply 15 of 31
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Well, if there was ever a 'brand' in need of repair, she's found it.
    cornchipbaconstang
  • Reply 16 of 31
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member
    JinTech said:
    Seeing how crooked Uber is...

    That's why they hired her, to er 'craft their brand story'.
    edited June 2017 cornchip
  • Reply 17 of 31
    Uber lost almost $1 billion last quarter. Good luck with your career choice.
    baconstangtokyojimu
  • Reply 18 of 31
    For goodness sakes it is like the negative nellies on here have never left for a promotion or something. There is a limit to how high "the head of Apple Music" can rise at Apple, especially in a relatively short time if she is one of those "never stay in one place more than 5 years" types. But at Uber this is a significant promotion and if she succeeds she could jump into the top executive ranks. If she fails ... well hey let's face it she is already rich so who cares, she'll be fine and it isn't as if she won't be able to get another job. If nothing else she could go to Google and do something with the mess that is Play Music (almost as much a lost cause as Uber). So this is no big deal. Just climbing the corporate ladder, which is what a lot of folks did when they joined Apple in the first place.
    SpamSandwichHabi_tweetronn
  • Reply 19 of 31
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Better invest in a chastity belt. 
    nubus
  • Reply 20 of 31
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    I hope that she can make a meaningful impact to assist in turning uber around. She is a certainly talented and capable individual, but uber's company culture might too far gone now for even Boz to make a significant impact.
    baconstang
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