Chris Peay is all about innovation and pushing the culture forward. A co-founder and chief marketing officer at Cxmmunty Media, Peay wants to see education advance at the same pace as society.
Recently, rolling out spoke to the young CMO about what he specifically wants to see change and what’s next for his company.
Chris, you just spoke at the 2024 State of the Atlanta Black Ecosystem Summit Powered by UNCF. What was it like seeing a room full of Black tech professionals tonight?
So I’m from Charlotte. It’s a city down the street, about three hours away. I honestly hardly ever see this. I’ve grown up around Black people, but I didn’t grow up around prestigious Black people. Just being in Atlanta, being in Atlanta Black tech and being at The Gathering Spot is an eye-opener. I just felt at home. I was very comfortable.
What is one gem you gave tonight on your panel for people who weren’t able to make it out?
The biggest thing I’d say that some people would agree with — and some people wouldn’t — is the education system is pretty much outdated, except for medical and law [professions].
I think we have to change the way we do education. And I think it starts with parents. I think it starts with organizations like you all just talked to like CodeHouse. So making sure our education doesn’t necessarily stop at the schools but also [goes] further to figure out what organizations and what’s going on in our community [that] you can get your children involved in.
What do you have coming up next at Cxmmunity?
We have season four of the HBCU Esports League. As you know, we launched the first-ever competitive Esports League for HBCUs and HBCU students. We have some tentpole events coming up with Hot Pockets. That’s going to be pretty cool.
We have about $100,000 in scholarships available through competitive video game play this upcoming season. So we’re really looking forward to that, which starts on Feb. 4. It’ll be live on our Twitch channels.
Where can people find you on social media?
People can follow us on Instagram or Twitter @cxmmunity. Take the “o” out of community, put an “x,” and we’re there.
