This Sisters with Superpowers story is sponsored by Chevy.
Adrianne Smith is senior vice president, senior partner, and chief diversity and inclusion officer at FleishmanHillard, a global PR agency. Prior to joining FleishmanHillard, she was named the first global director of inclusion and diversity at WPP, the largest multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company.
As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpowers to be?
Being a Black woman is a superpower within itself. I am a risk taker, I am resilient, and I am a connector. I know how to forgive, and I am a forward-focused thinker.
What thoughtful or encouraging piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
I would say, you know who you are and what you are capable of so, keep that same energy up. Let people know you for who you are as a human being and the work that you do instead of the company you work for. Keep dreaming big and wide awake. Take “no” like they are vitamins, they actually make you stronger.
If you could thank any Black woman for her contributions to history and society, who would it be and why?
I’d like to thank any and every Black woman that dared to dream and take risks despite her surroundings and circumstances. The Black women who decided not to be talkers but doers. The Black women who believe in the motto, “Don’t talk about it, be about it.”
As a successful woman in business, what is your greatest or proudest achievement?
My greatest and proudest professional achievement to date is making history by launching the first stand-alone diversity, equity, and inclusion beach activation ever in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity’s 66-plus year history and naming it Inkwell Beach after the famous beach on Martha’s Vineyard. Cannes Lions is where the best creative work in the world is judged to the highest standards.
