University in 2001. Wes is also the author of The New York Times bestseller “The Other Wes Moore,” which has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie, as well as four other bestselling books, “The Work,” “Discovering Wes Moore,”
“This Way Home” and the recently released, “Five Days.”
Troy Carter, Independent Director Nominee. Troy Carter is the founder and CEO of Q&A, a music technology company focused on building software solutions for recording artists via distribution and analytics. He also serves as an advisor to the NBA Players Association and The Prince Estate. Prior to founding Q&A, Troy was Global Head of Creator Services at Spotify from 2016 to 2018 and then served in a consulting role for CEO Daniel Ek until 2019. Troy serves on the boards of WeTransfer and
SoundCloud, and served as an advisor to Lyft. He is also an active early stage investor, including in companies such as Uber, Lyft, Dropbox, Spotify, Slack, Warby Parker, Gimlet Media, and Thrive Market. Troy previously founded the entertainment company, Atom Factory, in 2008, where he worked with Lady Gaga, John Legend and Meghan Trainor.
Troy is an executive member on the boards of trustees at The Aspen Institute and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as well as a Henry Crown Fellow. In addition, he is a member of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council. Troy also has
served on the boards of directors of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Council for Technology & Innovation and CalArts. Troy has previously been included on Fast Company’s list of most creative people and on Billboard’s Power 100 list, an annual ranking the music industry’s top influencers.
Jerri DeVard, Independent Director Nominee. Jerri is the founder of the Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA), an alliance designed to champion corporate diversity and help build the next generation of C-suite marketing executives. Prior to founding BECA, Jerri was an executive at Office Depot, Inc. from 2017 to 2020,
serving as the executive vice president and chief customer officer, where she was responsible for eCommerce, customer service, all marketing functions, data and analytics and communications and events, and prior to that, as the chief marketing officer. Before moving to Office Depot, Jerri served as chief marketing officer of The ADT Corporation, a leading provider of home and business security services, from 2014 to 2016 and, prior to that, as executive vice president, CMO for Nokia and was based in Helsinki and London. Additionally, Jerri has held senior marketing roles as SVP-Verizon Communications, CMO-Citibank, VP-Revlon, VP-Harrah’s Entertainment, the NFL
and General Mills, formerly the Pillsbury Company.
Jerri currently serves as a director on the boards of Under Armour Inc., Cars.com and Roots Insurance. Previously, she served on the boards of directors of ServiceMaster, Belk, Gurwitch Products, Tommy Hilfiger and the advisory board of PepsiCo. Jerri is a graduate of Spelman College, where she served as a member of the Board of Trustees and received her MBA from Clark Atlanta University Graduate School of Business. Jerri has been selected by Black Enterprise as one of the 75 Most Powerful Blacks in Corporate America and 50 Most Powerful Women in Business, named by AdAge as a Rockstar CMO and Power Player and 50 Women to Watch by the WSJ.
Ernest
D. Lyles II, CFO. Ernest Lyles is the CEO of The HiGro Group, a mission driven private equity firm focused on buyout investing in the lower middle market, which he founded in 2016. As CEO, Ernest oversees all aspects of the firm including investment activities, growth initiatives and talent management. Additionally, he serves as a board observer of EMSAR and director of DRS Imaging Services, two HiGro portfolio companies. Prior to founding The HiGro Group, Ernest spent a decade as an investment banker with UBS Investment Bank where his tenure included advising some of the world’s most notable corporations and private equity
firms. As the head of technology and business services at UBS Investment Bank, Ernest became the most senior African-American investment banker within the firm's industry coverage groups.
Ernest serves as a director on the boards of the Citizens Committee for New York, Scan / Harbor, Manhattan Country School and of the West Harlem Development Corporation. Ernest also is a member of the New York Economic Club and Founder of the UTULIVU Group, a mission driven non-profit focused on the continuity of holistic achievement by high performing Black men. Ernest attended The Howard University School of Law in Washington DC and Shepherd University in West Virginia.
Howard
L. Sanders, Director. Howard Sanders is the managing member of Auldbrass Partners, a growth-focused private equity firm investing primarily in secondaries transactions, which he founded in 2011. Howard heads Auldbrass Partners’ transactional sourcing, deal execution, investment strategy and business development. He has led successful Auldbrass Partners investments in SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), Tech-enabled manufacturing and services, Healthcare and EdTech companies. Before