Senegalese musician, entrepreneur and statesman Youssou N’Dour loves nothing more than to quote his deceased compatriot, the caliph general Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Sy: ‘It’s good to resemble one’s father, but it’s better to resemble one’s era.’
The Senegalese singer is known for his extraordinary vocal range and for introducing international audiences to mbalax—a Senegalese popular music style that blends Wolof traditional instrumental and vocal forms primarily with Cuban and other Latin American popular genres.

According to Forbes, Youssou N'Dour is the richest African musician in the world in 2022, with a net worth of $145 million. His enormous net worth arose from the use of his distinct voice and the popularization of the well-known Senegalese style of music known as Mbalax. On October 1, 1959, he was born in Dakar, Senegal. He served as Senegal’s Minister of Tourism from April 2012 to September 2013. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine maintained that N’Dour is “perhaps the most famous singer alive” in Senegal and much of Africa.

"Africa has no cultural frontiers. It mixes genres effortlessly. That's the future for me." Youssou N'Dour

Show Guest: Youssou N'Dour
Show Host and Creator: Patrick A. Howell
Executive Producer and co-host: Tori Reid
Executive Producer: Amobe Mvegue
Executive Producer: Patrick Abanda
Show writer: Patrick A. Howell
Voice Over Artist: Maleiva
Production: WAN and Afrobiz
Pre-production: We Edit Productions
Post Productions: We Edit Productions
GDD Intro and Outro: Youssou N'Dour, Miss, Joko (2020)
Song, Introduction: Youssou N'Dour, Dem, Leaving, wommat (1994)
Song, Outro: Youssou N'Dour, Burima, Joko (2020)

Special thank you to: World African Network
photo of Youssou N'Dour: Youri Lenquette

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

It is said that excellence is a habit rather than a destination. Also, that you are what you do consistently. If that is true, then Ruth Carter who just won her second academy award for Best Costume Design for the film "Wakanda, Forever", is the epitome of excellence. She won the first award in 2018 with Wakanda's predecessor, "Black Panther". She was also nominated for Spike Lee's Malcolm X in 1993 and Steven Speilberg's "Amistad" in 1998. To hear Ruth tell it, however? She is as humble, passionate and focused as an intern looking for her big break. Sure, she's comfortable. But she's leaning in and her focus is poignant. And perhaps, that's where her true magic lays - her consistency and effervescence. Ruth Carter is the first black woman in American history to win the Oscar on her sartorial splendor, the basis of technically astute work, timeless art and the storytelling legacy of her ancestors. Yes, she looks at costume design as storytelling and takes her griot cues from sheroes including Nikki Giovanni, Lorraine Hansberry and Sonia Sanchez.

"My favorite part about costume designing is the artistry of the job...
I begin with understanding the intentions of the story."
Ruth Carter

Guest: Ruth Carter

Host: Patrick A. Howell

Creator and Producer: Patrick A. Howell

Executive Producer: Tori Reid

Writer: Patrick A. Howell

Post Production: WeEdit Podcasts

Post Production Assistant: Alana Coleman

Intern School Affiliation: Norfolk State University

Premier Advertising Sponsor: Vivreau Water Systems

Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West

Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert

Special Thank You - Sterfon Demings

More Information on Ruth Carter:

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

Bob Unnold has led several startups, including two in Stamford: Axxun, which created a platform for software developers to compress the amount of time needed to delivery applications; and I3 Mobile, which created a subscription-based service delivering news to mobile phones. I3 Mobile held an $82 million initial public offering of stock in 2000.

His newest endeavor is Atendit which sells wireless tags that, when linked to an accompanying Apple IOS app, allow users to get reminders on specific things at set times and days when walking by a sensor. Memory scientists have a name — the event horizon model — for the tendency of people forgetting things as they move through the house and out the door. The starter package is selling on Amazon for $30 and an Android version is in the works.

Bob Unnold has over the decades developed the pitch perfect acumen of an entrepreneur.

“In colleges today, there are majors in entrepreneurship. I don’t really personally believe that you can teach entrepreneurship. It’s something that’s in a person. It’s an aggressive approach in a person and you don’t know if you’re an entrepreneur until it’s Wednesday, and you’ve got a $30,000 payroll on Friday with no money in the bank; then you have to figure out how to actually get that money and how to do it- otherwise you’re going to have a lot of unhappy employees.”

Guest: Bob Unnold
Affiliate Company: Did You Remember To, LLC
Host: Patrick A. Howell
Creator and Producer: Patrick A. Howell
Executive Producer: Alan Stone
Executive Producer: Bob Unnold
Producer: Tori Reid
Writer: Patrick A. Howell
Audio Recording: Emerging Media Partners
Post Production: We Edit Productions
Vodcast Post Production: Emerging Media Partners
Premier Advertising Sponsor: Vivreau Water Systems
Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West
Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert
Marketing Partner and Sponsor: Wall Street Research
Location Sponsor: Ash Cigar Lounge in Los Angeles, CA

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

Dennis Ngyen is the CEO of Society Pass - an e-commerce company, traded on the NASDAQ, headquartered in Orange County and offices in 7 cities including Singapore, Ho Chi Mihn, Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta. Society Pass is building the next generation of loyalty and data-focused marketing. It is an ecosystem of technology-enabled companies working together to change how consumer and merchants interact with one another. Think of it like going to the mall in Southeast Asia from the comfort of your laptop anywhere in the world.

From UC Irvine to John Hopkins University to the top business program at the University of Chicago, Dennis has 5 degrees including an MBA, Law degree and MA in international studies. His blueprint for success? Dream. Plan and here is his form fitting handle on success – Execute. As Dennis considers Society Pass his legacy project after such highlights, makes me very intrigued. It seems as if anything he sets his mind to, he will accomplish.

Guest: Dennis Nguyen
Affiliate Company: Society Pass
Host: Patrick A. Howell
Creator and Producer: Patrick A. Howell
Executive Producer: Alan Stone
Executive Producer: Tori Reid
Writer: Patrick A. Howell
Audio Recording: Emerging Media Partners
Postproduction: We Edit Productions
Additional Postproduction: We Edit Productions
Additional Vodcast Postproduction: Emerging Media Partners
Premier Advertising Sponsor: Vivreau Water Systems
Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West
Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

"Social Responsibility" is all but a catch phrase in American corporate lingo. In this Part II episode, PepsiCo's Derek Lewis, President of Multicultural Business and Equity Development for PepsiCo Beverages North America, provides insight into a first-rate business IQ, and spells out how profit-driven corporations will not propel transformational change with money alone. He uniquely understands that it will take not only billions in financial commitment from corporations, but an attendant will power for sustained change from within the system. He explains how diversity and inclusion fundamentally impact the Fortune 500 bottom line and P&L.

Derek Lewis recently retired as the President of PepsiCo's Multicultural Business and Equity Development after a total of nearly 35 years with PepsiCo Beverages. During his career at PepsiCo, he strived to live by what he calls "the 3 Rs": Results - delivering solid and consistent performance the right way matters; Relationships - personal, professional, and spiritual; nurture these relationships and always be a great teammate. Reputation - be mindful of your actions. To live purposefully to create a positive legacy that generations will remember. He is the embodiment of this integrity. He understands how these strategies deployed with authenticity and boldness determine the future of community, but the bottom line of business. Bottom line? Do business the right way, now. Derek Lewis is a corporate titan of Community.

"As I close one chapter, a new one opens. There is still work to do. And I'm not done. I will always be committed to making a difference." - Derek Lewis

CREDITS:

Guest: Derek Lewis
Guest Host: Tori Reid
Producer: Patrick A. Howell
Producer: James Parker
Executive Producer: Tori Reid
Writer: Patrick A. Howell
Post Production: Cutting Edge Editing
Audio Recording: Franklin Fitzgerald
Sound / Music Mixing: Tori Scorsese
Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West
Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert
Photo Credit for Derek Lewis: Unknown

Music:
Episode Intro: Earth (Light It Up)/Tilden Parc, Xavy Rusan
Introduction: Swag On/Mary Riddle
Commentaries: Take 2/Pro Reese
Outro: A United Nation/Mary Riddle

Background music: DJ Envy (PepsiCo stage at Hampton University Homecoming)

a Victory & Noble production
@ 2022 Victory & Noble LLC All Rights Reserved

Connect with the Guest:
Derek Lewis on LinkedIn
Derek Lewis on Instagram

More about PepsiCo's Initiative

More about Hampton University - The Standard of Excellence

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

The first African American PepsiCo employees were hired in the 1940s. Maryann Bond and Allen McKellar, Jr. were hired by PepsiCo's CEO Walter S. Mack to market Pepsi Cola to African American communities. In 2021, Derek Lewis was promoted from within the ranks of PepsiCo to President of Multicultural Business and Equity Development for PepsiCo Beverages North America. A Pepsi tradition of corporate social responsibility results in bottom line results nearly 100 years later.

In the wake of George Floyd's death and the international Black Lives Matter marches of nearly 26 million, countless Fortune 500 companies pledged nearly $50 billion dollars to social justice. PepsiCo was one of those companies. In this very special episode on the campus of Hampton University at a hallmark homecoming, PepsiCo’s North American President Derek Lewis and guest host Tori Reid discuss sustainable, long-lasting change, his dedicated leadership, and PepsiCo's central role in multicultural communities.

"Success in my mind is the bar is always moving... The consumer landscape is moving. America is changing. How do you continue to stay ahead of the curve?" - Derek Lewis

CREDITS:
Guest: Derek Lewis
Guest Host: Tori Reid
Producer: Patrick A. Howell
Producer: James Parker
Executive Producer: Tori Reid
Writers: Patrick A. Howell with Tori Reid and James Parker
Post Production: Cutting Edge Editing
Audio Recording: Franklin Fitzgerald
Sound / Music Mixing: Tori Scorsese
Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West
Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert
Photo Credit for Derek Lewis: Unknown

Music:
Episode Intro: Earth (Light It Up)/Tilden Parc, Xavy Rusan
Introduction: Talkin (Neck)/The Hampton University Marching Force
Commentaries: The Ace/Ballpoint, Cushy, _91nova
Outro: Grizzlies/Mary Riddle

Background music: DJ Envy (PepsiCo stage at Hampton University Homecoming)

a Victory & Noble production
@ 2022 Victory & Noble LLC All Rights Reserved

Connect with the Guest:
Derek Lewis on LinkedIn
Derek Lewis on Instagram

More about PepsiCo's Initiative

More about Hampton University - The Standard of Excellence

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

Solomon Tedla is an impact investor, entrepreneur and pioneer working to help end energy poverty in Africa. Africa is the new emerging market of the world. Over a decade ago, it was BRIC - Brazil, Russia, India and China. With many of those powers more mature, they are now global leaders in business and leadership and Africa has become the land of exponential opportunity. Africa will provide the astute investor with more bang for the buck. Solomon Tedla is a tenured executive with leading technologies in Southern California, often times known as the second Silicon Valley because of the rich pool of cloud based, mother boards and smart chips.

Solomon leads an energy products manufacturing startup in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, initially making solar and efficient lighting products primarily for the off-grid market. A dynamic leader with broad and deep experience in diverse industries and roles, strategically minded with operational savvy, passionate about performance excellence with focused attention on financial management founded on solid “big four” experience. Result driven, collaborative with strong business acumen and ability to interface at all levels including the boardroom.

In this episode of Getting Deals Done, host Patrick A. Howell speaks with an old family friend about his vision and exceptional work on the continent where he was born and how vision, ambition and patience are married with hard work, pragmatism to create a new pioneering age for Ethiopia and the world.

CREDITS:

Guest: Solomon Tedla
Host: Patrick A. Howell
Creator and Producer: Patrick A. Howell
Executive Producer: Tori Reid
Writer: Patrick A. Howell
Post Production: WeEdit Podcasts
Post Production Assistant: Alana Coleman
Intern School Affiliation: Norfolk State University
Premier Advertising Sponsor: Vivreau Water Systems
Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West
Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert

a Victory & Noble production
@ 2022 Victory & Noble LLC All Rights Reserved

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.

Darrell K. Williams is a retired three-star general who is now the President of his alma mater Hampton University. He is also a former Vice President and Managing Director of Leidos, a Fortune 250 technology company where he provided global logistical support to U.K. military forces. Williams is a tried-and-true leader whose greatest assignment as a leader, commander and director may very well be in front of him with the Hampton, one of the world's top historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and a beloved institution.

In this special episode of Getting Deals Done (GDD), our executive producer Tori Reid takes the opportunity to speak with new President Darrell K. Williams at their alma mater Hampton University about the business of leadership and education. (Tori also enjoyed a historic conversation with President Williams' predecessor Dr. William Harvey on her society and culture show, and GDD's sister show, Here's to Life.)

In Part 1 of this insightful and timely interview, Williams talks about his inspirational journey from student cadet to three-star general to President of his beloved alma mater, his unique and successful brand of leadership, his vision for Hampton University and how "a standard of excellence" has not only created one of the best mid-sized universities in the United States but a piston in global engines for leaders of character.

"The next thing in terms of legacy that I hope you are feeling is this idea of Hampton being the standard of excellence which we have been. That model has served Hampton (University) extraordinarily well since 1868.” Darrell K. Williams, President of Hampton University

CREDITS:

Guest: Darrell K. Williams
Guest Host: Tori Reid
Creator and Producer: Patrick A. Howell
Executive Producer: Tori Reid
Co-Producer: James Parker
Writer: Patrick A. Howell
Audio Recording: Franklin Fitzgerald
Post Production: Cutting Edge Editing
Additional Post Production: Stereo Mixtrumental
Music Supervision: Another Place in Time Music
Premier Advertising Sponsor: Vivreau Water Systems
Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West
Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert
Photo Credit for Darrell K. Williams: Jason Putsche Photography

Music:
Episode Intro: Earth (Light It Up)/Tilden Parc, Xavy Rusan
Introduction: Minuet for Violins/Cercles Nouvelles
Commentaries: Canon in D Major - Chamber Music Version
Outro: Sunday Morning Sermon/Duke Herrington
Vivreau Ad: Soft Speak/Siarate

Connect with the Guest:

Darrell K. Williams, Office of the President
Hampton University

Connect with Tori Reid

Tori Reid on LinkedIn

Connect with Patrick A. Howell

Getting Deals Done is a show about doing business, changing power, changing systems and making the world a better place one deal at a time. Host, veteran banker and entrepreneur Patrick A. Howell, speaks with leading and successful innovators, mavericks and captains of industry about making big things happen in the world.