Brand builder, marketing strategist, and entrepreneur Martin Ekechukwu joins Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder on The North Star to unpack how entrepreneurship can drive equity in a time when formal DEI programs are retracting.

From his immigrant roots to founding WHTWRKS, Martin shares the mindset required to build resilient businesses, align profit with purpose, and create brand ecosystems—not mere diversity checkboxes. He lifts the curtain on the truths of influencer marketing, opens up paths through supplier diversity and local impact, and shows why AI-fueled service models are the next frontier for founders and students alike.

Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, this is a guide to turning tension into opportunity.

• Immigrant roots, academic household, love of culture
• Leaving corporate to build, connect, and lead
• The limits of “change agent” roles in big firms
• Ecosystems over campaigns in multicultural marketing
• Influencer work as discipline, not luck
• DEI retrenchment, new access and supplier diversity gaps
• Social impact through arts, politics, and partnerships
• Profit with purpose in health and skincare needs
• Student playbook for organizing and peer networks
• Act local: councils, boards, and community service
• Becoming fluent in AI for practical business value
• A 10-year vision to reinvent product promotion

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🔗 Follow the Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership on LinkedIn.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group