The INSIDER Spring/Summer 2021

Texas College Alumna Appointed ESSENCE CEO

On February 9, 2021, Essence Communications, Inc. (ESSENCE), officially appointed Dr. Caroline A. Wanga to serve as Chief Executive Officer for ESSENCE and Chief Growth Officer for Essence Ventures, parent company of ESSENCE. This official appointment follows her seven month service as Interim CEO for ESSENCE. Wanga joined Essence Ventures as Chief Growth Officer in June of 2020, departing Target Corporation, where she served as Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Wanga, a Texas College Alumna (2005), began her Target career in supply chain. While in the supply chain realm, she served in a variety of transformational leadership roles, including modernizing Supply Chain, Business Intelligence, Digital and Strategy capabilities. In 2014, Wanga became Target’s Diversity & Inclusion Senior Director. The following year, she assumed the role of Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Target and would continue to excel, serving in executive leadership roles as the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility and Vice President of Human Resources. And, in 2019, her role would continue to expand as she became the Chief Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Wanga is revered as an inspirational thought and transformational leader, public speaker, and an expert at successfully cultivating a work environment that champions accountability, inclusivity, diversity, and innovation in the corporate world. Among other accolades, Wanga has been named a Top Executive in Corporate Diversity by Black Enterprise and recognized as one of Savoy's Most Powerful Women in Corporate America, as well as is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the Talladega College Board of Trustees and the American Airlines Community Council. She previously served on the Intersectionality, Culture, and Diversity Advisory Board for Twitter and as co-chair of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Diversity & Inclusion Initiative. Wanga was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Texas College at the 2021 Commencement Exercise.

Dr. Caroline A. Wanga

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The INSIDER │ Volume 16