Florian Koenigsberger is a photographer and technologist on a mission to advance representational justice for historically underserved communities. In the wake of Mr. Floyd's murder in the summer of 2020, he helped found See In Black, a collective of Black photographers whose two-week print sale raised over $500,000 for five intersectional, Black-centric charities. At Google, he built and leads the company's Image Equity Initiative, a cross-product mission to fight historical racial bias by creating camera and imagery products that work more equitably for people of color, especially those with darker skin tones.
His leadership in creating Real Tone—Google Pixel's camera technology that more accurately and authentically renders people of color—was recognized with some of the industry's highest honors, including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, D&AD Black Pencil and ADCOLOR Innovator Award. In 2023, he created the Image Equity Fellowship, a unique collaboration between Google and 3 arts-centric nonprofits that supported 20 emerging image makers of color with $20K in funding and industry-leading mentorship to produce nuanced bodies of work that shared urgent, untold stories of their communities with dignity and nuance. He is an alumnus of Yale University and Prep for Prep, and lives in Brooklyn, NY with his fiancée Keshia.
Desiree Rogers is a leader, communicator, strategist and connector. She is the co-owner and CEO of Black Opal, LLC which owns Black Opal and Fashion Fair Cosmetics. These brands produce vegan, natural makeup and skincare products primarily for the ethnic market. Fashion Fair was the subject of a recent award-winning documentary and was named one of the emerging beauty brands in 2022 by WWD. The brands are currently sold at Sephora, ULTA, CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid and Target.
Rogers has redefined every leadership position she has held while playing a major philanthropic role in her community. Consistently acknowledged as an innovative leader with a proven track record, her expertise includes revitalizing mature brands, building stellar teams, delivering positive financial results and creating sustainable brand strategies.
Her career milestones include positioning Chicago as a tourist destination as well as a convention city through a world-wide digital campaign. In 2018, Chicago was named the number one “Big City Destination” by Conde Nast Traveler. As the CEO of Johnson Publishing, she spearheaded the digital transformation of Ebony (2M unique visitors) and Jet magazines, setting the stage for the sale of the assets in 2016. As the first Social Secretary for the Obama Presidency her grasp of experiential marketing ensured Americans were able to visualize the values they voted for—inclusion, transparency, the embracement of all people—and translated the splendor of the White House to everyone. Her team oversaw 350 events. Prior to these positions, Rogers had professional roles including managing the 2B dollar natural gas utility, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, in Chicago as well as leading teams at Allstate and the Illinois Lottery where she doubled instant ticket sales to 600M in 3 years.
Desiree graduated from Wellesley College and Harvard Business School. She currently serves in two corporate boards—Stagwell and Inspired Entertainment.
Steven Hunter is an award-winning executive, whose servant leadership has been at the center of a distinguished professional career spanning two decades. Many of his corporate achievements have come under McDonald’s Golden Arches, where Steven rose from restaurant crew member to global management. In his current role at McDonald’s, Steven is the brand’s first Strategic Alignment Director for the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office. Here he serves as a chief of staff collaborator responsible for advancing global DEI strategies, strengthening corporate and community partnerships around the world, and designing innovative workforce engagement initiatives to enhance the employee experience and achieve business objectives.
Prior to his appointment to DEI, Steven held various Operations, Marketing, and Communications roles across the US business, including Field Communications Director, Multicultural Public Relations Lead and Marketing and Communications positions in McDonald’s Indianapolis, Memphis New Orleans, and Baltimore Washington Regions. It was during his time in the South that Steven headed up a trailblazing field market test that led to McDonald’s introduction of ‘Fruit in Every Happy Meal’ in all US restaurants, a triumph highlighted in Forbes in 2018.
Angelo Adams is Head of Zipcar, the world’s leading car-sharing network, where he leads all facets of the business. Previously, he worked at Otis Elevator Co. for over eleven years, formerly serving as its Senior Director of Service Operations. He has also served with the U.S. Army for five years as a Signal Corps Officer. Angelo holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business where he focused on Marketing and Entrepreneurial studies. While at Ross, Angelo was the co-chair of the 32nd Alfred L Edwards BBSA Conference and the Vice President of the Ross Armed Forces Association. .
The purpose of M-Talks is for the audience to hear stories from alumni on their Ross experience and how their Michigan Ross network has influenced their professional journey since graduation. Alumni Speaker Info will be shared soon.