Regina Gwynn (born in 1979) is an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

tech entrepreneur, and co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, as well as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of TresseNoire. Black Women Talk Tech (BWTT) is a collective that helps

women of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

entrepreneurs finance and build tech companies.

Early life and education

Gwynn was born in 1979 in Fayetteville,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. At the age of nine, she began her entrepreneurial career by selling Avon products. Gwynn attended the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

from 1996-1998, where she studied fashion buying, marketing, and merchandising. She also attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

from 1998- 2009, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in marketing. She simultaneously received an MBA in marketing, entrepreneurship, and strategy in 2009 from Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management.

Career

In 2009 Gwynn started her career in the Product Development Executive Training program at Macy's Inc. From 2010-2011, she became a management consultant at the Monitor Group. From 2011-2015 she transitioned into becoming a marketing executive at The Apparel Group in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2014 during her tenure at the Apparel Group, she launched her very own hairstylist on-location beauty booking app platform, TresseNoire which ended in 2020. In 2017, Gwynn met and collaborated with tech founders Esosa Ighodaro and Lauren Washington. Where their interaction led to the creation of Black Women Talk Tech (BWTT). BWTT is a collective that has 500 plus women of color tech entrepreneurs, focusing on engineering and full-stack development. In 2018, Gwynn with other tech collaborators Lauren Washington and Esosa Ighodaro was invited to be guest speakers at the Hustle House for SXSW. The main topic of discussion was how to circulate wealth within the community. In 2020, BWTT, hosted its fourth annual conference, pairing more than 1,300 participants to potential viable resources. BWTT gained sponsorships from leading brands such as

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Connect and SheaMoisture to fund their 7th annual conference "Roadmap To Billions". BWTT is the largest conference for women of color in the tech industry.

Awards and nominations

* In 2019, Gwynn received the award "100 Most Powerful Women" by

Entrepreneur Magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. First published in 1977. it is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquartered in Irvine, Cal ...

. * She also in 2020, received the award "Top Ten Women in Tech" from

Essence Magazine ''Essence'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O ...

Selected publication

* Gwynn, Regina, "Building a Two-Sided Marketplace With Regina Gwynn." 2021. New York * Gwynn, Regina, "Esosa Ighodaro-Johnson and Regina Gynn are changing the landscape in Tech for Black Women!" 2022. New York

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn, Regina Wikipedia Student Program 1979 births Living people People from Fayetteville, North Carolina Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Rutgers University alumni Kellogg School of Management alumni American technology businesspeople 21st-century African-American women