It’s time to roll out the red carpet for the 2025 AFROTECH™ Conference speakers.
AFROTECH™ Conference
Since 2016, Black technologists, professionals, creators, and current and future leaders have convened and celebrated at AFROTECH™ Conference. THE event for Black professionals returns to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX, running Oct. 27-31, and promises endless networking opportunities for attendees, decision makers, and recruiters at the Expo Hall.
Moreover, attendees can expect impactful panels, fireside chats, and workshops on innovation and the future of tech. Guiding these conversations at the 2025 AFROTECH™ Conference are various leaders in AI, medtech, cybersecurity, engineering, marketing and advertising, and fintech.
Speaker Lineup
Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman will lead conversations under the AI track and discuss the technology’s role in shaping the future of life and work. Google data scientist Emmanuel Ekwedike will head a discussion on empowering digital identity and more. Additional speakers in AI include Donald King, JPMorgan Chase’s VP AI/ML product security lead, and Deon Nicholas, Forethought founder and president.
Furthermore, cybersecurity professionals will be in for a treat. Capital One Cybersecurity Director Chantel Edwards, who realized her technology mission while serving in the U.S. Air Force as an all-source intelligence analyst, will host a workshop centering topics such as the human side of cybersecurity and attacker psychology.
Lamarr Henry, a senior security engineer at Figma, and Awnya Creque,
“I was in awe when I saw how many Black and brown faces were in the industry at AFROTECH™ last year,” Creque told AFROTECH™. “I said, ‘I have to come back here to speak’… It’s a great time. The food, the fun, the events, networking, and just genuinely connecting with people who are in the space or trying to get in the space.”
This is just scratching the surface of what to expect from this year’s speakers. Also taking the stage, under the fintech track, will be Tabitha Brown, appointed as Clover’s chief empowerment officer. She will be on a panel titled “Culturapreneurs: How FinTech is Fueling the Next Generation,” which also includes Stephen Love, film and TV producer and founder of Made with Love Media. Love serves as Brown’s manager and helped her land 56 deals in two years, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. The pair will be joined by Fiserv Chief Brand, Marketing & Communications Officer Shannon Watkins.
More featured voices across the tracks can be found below.
Fintech
- Jackson Aimiuwu – Head of Solutions Architecture, US FSI Payments Industry, Amazon Web Services (Solo Talk)
- Tiffany Aliche – Founder and CEO, The Budgetnista (Workshop)
- Boluwatife Aiki-Raji – Founder, Carrot Credit (Panel)
- Benjamen Oladokun – Co-Founder, Shekel Mobility (Panel)
Marketing and Advertising
- Malik Ducard – Chief Content Officer, Pinterest (Fireside Chat)
- Adrienne R. Lofton – Global Vice President, Product and Integrated Marketing, Google (Fireside chat)
- Maya Dukes – Managing Director, WindowSeat, Delta (Fireside Chat)
Medtech
- JaBaris Swain – Director, Innovation, Med Tech, Johnson & Johnson (Fireside chat)
- Omotolani Olasanoye – Oh She’s Tech (Panel)
- Chikara Foster-Rettig – OB-GYN (Panel)
Engineering
- Melvin Hillsman – Principal Software Engineer, Red Hat (Workshop)
- Shadeira Nesmith, Software Development Instructor, Coding Black Females (Workshop)
- Hervé Aniglo – Lead Tech Instructor, Kids Next Code (Solo talk)
- Sola Babatunde – Product Designer, Toyota (Workshop)
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