Selena Cuffe
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Selena Cuffe, née Saunders (born 5 November 1975 in
Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...
) is an American
businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...
. She is best known for co-founding Heritage Link Brands, LLC, the largest global importer of black produced wine, with her husband, Khary Cuffe. In January 2024, Selena Cuffe was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank, Los Angeles Board of Directors.


Early life and education

The only joint child of Dr. Joseph Saunders and Veronica Saunders, Cuffe was raised in the
View Park-Windsor Hills Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and util ...
community of
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,
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by her mother. Cuffe's father, Joseph, died one month before her second birthday. Cuffe's paternal great-grandfather, J. Saunders, was born into slavery. A descendant of the
Ashanti tribe The Asante, also known as Ashanti in English (), are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine mi ...
of
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
, he was freed by the
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...
at the age of eight. He had 16 children, the youngest of whom was Cuffe's grandfather, Titus Saunders Sr., a de-segregationist of the
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
public school system who founded the state's first integrated school transportation system. Both of Cuffe's paternal grandparents graduated from college in the 1920s. Cuffe graduated with an AB in International Relations from
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. During college, she became a member of
Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...
sorority. She also completed the Sponsors for Education opportunity (SEO) program, where she interned for an investment bank on Wall Street. Cuffe also holds a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
, with honors, from the
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
and is certified, with merit, by the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust. Cuffe is chair of the Nominating & Governance committee of the Harvard Business School Women’s Student Association Alumnae Advisory Board, Vice President Emeritus of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board, and she currently serves on Stanford University's Bing Overseas Studies Program Advisory Council.


Early career

Early in her career, Cuffe worked for
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
. During her tenure at the airline, her responsibilities included territorial sales, the promotion of new routes, and business development initiatives related to united.com and the launch of online travel websites,
Hotwire Hotwire or hot wire may refer to: Technology * Hot-wiring, a method of starting a car with no key * Hot-wire foam cutter, a tool used to cut foam and polystyrene * Hot wire (electricity), a wire conductor with non-zero potential in electric powe ...
and
Orbitz Orbitz.com is a travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine. The website is owned by Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., a subsidiary of Expedia Group. It is headquartered in the Citigroup Center, Chicago, Illinois. Background Origi ...
. She received her marketing training from the Procter & Gamble Company in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, where she served as Assistant Brand Manager for the
Pringles Pringles is an American brand of stackable potato-based chips invented by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1968 and marketed as "Pringle's Newfangled Potato Chips". It is technically considered an Extruded food, extruded snack because of the manufac ...
brand,. Her primary responsibility was managing marketing plans for the
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and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
markets. In her final position before founding Heritage Link Brands, LLC, Selena was a Director for the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), overseeing the promotion of student and work exchanges for 50,000+ people worldwide. She left CIEE in January 2007 to work for Heritage Link Brands, LLC full-time.


Heritage Link Brands

While on an unrelated business trip to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in September 2005, Cuffe decided to visit the first annual Soweto Wine Festival in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, organised by the Cape Wine Academy. There, she met vintners from the Seven Sisters winery, one of the only black-owned wineries in South Africa. The Seven Sisters were having difficulty exporting to the United States and finding a distributor in their local market. At the same festival Cuffe found that out of South Africa's $3-billion wine industry, less than two percent was owned by blacks. Seeing the inequality – blacks made up over 80 percent of the country's population – and wanting to help the indigenous vintners she had encountered, Cuffe began to craft the idea Heritage Link Brands, LLC. Heritage Link Brands was founded in October 2005. Cuffe remained with the Council on International Educational Exchange while she financed the new company with her savings and credit cards. In 2006 she brought M'hudi, the first black owned family vineyard in South Africa, post-apartheid into the company's wine portfolio. In January 2007, Cuffe left her job to run Heritage Link Brands, LLC. In the following month, February, the wines were first launched in a test market with
Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...
. That spring, Heritage Link Brands Wine Club and Shop were established, and
TIME magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
featured Cuffe and her company in September 2007, exactly two years after Cuffe visited the Soweto Wine Festival. Heritage Link Brands wine can now be found in over 40 states. The company also imports wines from the Fair Trade certified community of Koopmanskloof (producing under the label One World). One World holds the distinction of being the first Fair Trade certified wine to be served onboard any US airline. Heritage Link Brands has since expanded its horizontal and vertical presence within the wine industry. In 2015, Cuffe began importing wine from France to produce the house red and white wine for the musical ''
Waitress Waiting staff ( BrE), waiters () / waitresses (), or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested. Waiting staff ...
'', Broadway's first ever, all-female creative production team in history. Tickets for the world premiere production sold out. Heritage Link Brands also produces the house wine for Broadway plays,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was origina ...
and War Paint. In 2016, Cuffe negotiated exclusive rights to import award-winning Brazilian wine producer Casa Valduga, home to the largest sparkling wine cellar in South America and famously listed as one of ''1,000 Places to Visit Before You Die''. In
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, in partnership with Burdell Properties, Selena Cuffe negotiated interest acquisition of Silkbush Mountain Vineyards, a property in
Breedekloof The Breedekloof wine district is one of three districts in the Breede River Valley wine region. It boasts a total of 28 wine cellars (11 producer cellars and 17 private cellars). The Breedekloof represents 14.24% (13 029 hectares) of wine grape vi ...
, 90 km east of
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, South Africa, in the famous Western Cape Winelands. Its cultivars, planted on sloped hillsides, up to 700 m above sea level, include: Cabernet Sauvignon (26.97 ha), Pinotage (12.85 ha), Shiraz (12.81 ha), Merlot (7.26 ha), Cabernet Franc (4.89ha), Malbec (3.55ha), Petit Verdot (3.95ha), Viognier (3.09 ha), Petit Syrah (2.59 ha), Pinot Noir (2.2ha), Grenache Noir (1.76 ha), Semillon (1.5ha), Sauvignon Blanc (1.5ha) and Mourvedre (1.35ha).


SodexoMagic

In March 2020, Cuffe was named as president of SodexoMAGIC, a joint-venture between
Magic Johnson Enterprises Magic Johnson Enterprises is an investment company founded by Basketball Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Magic Johnson. The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Beverly Hills, California. Magic Johnson Enterprises formerly owned Magic Jo ...
and
Sodexo Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance) is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It has 522,000 employees as of 2023, operates in 55 countries and serves 100 million custome ...
, Inc, based in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
.


Blackstone Consulting, Inc. & RJB Properties

In April 2023, Cuffe was named Chief Growth Officer for Blackstone Consulting, Inc., an $800M, 9,000-person international service provider, minority business enterprise (MBE), and Corporate Plus member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) with a client base that includes the U.S. Department of Defense, Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, schools, universities and industrial sites. In addition, she is Chief Growth Officer of RJB Properties, Inc., a leader in the “K through 12” educational market for janitorial and maintenance services as well as higher education campuses, commercial office spaces, convention centers, military installations, and banks.


Personal life

A mother of three children, Cuffe is married to fellow co-founder of Heritage Link Brands, Khary Cuffe, a graduate of Harvard University's Graduate School of Business and
John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
. Khary's parents emigrated from
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
to the United States in the 1960s. His maternal uncle is Derrick F. Kellier, Jamaica's former Member of Parliament and Minister of Agriculture.


Honors

* 2022 UCLA Riordan Programs Hall of Fame Inducte

* 2019 Brooklyn Library Women Trailblazers Awar

* 201
Les Batisseurs de l'Économie Africaine (Africa Economy Builders Award)
* 2016 Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations * 2016 Riordan Program Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, UCLA Anderson School of Management * 2016 Vision in Wine Award, BCAGlobal * 2015 WABF Venture Competition Judge, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business * 2015 Brooklyn Honors, Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA * 2010 League of Black Women Black Rose Award Recipient * 2009
Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' (stylized in all caps) is an American multimedia company. A Black-owned business since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African American businesses with a readership of 3.7 mil ...
Magazine, "B.E. Next Entrepreneur of the Year" * 1993 Glamour Magazine College Woman of the Year (whose winners have also included Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Condoleezza Rice, Alexandra Keeman, Martha Stewart and Diane Sawyer)


References


Publications

*International Business, 8th Edition:
Michael Czinkota Michael R. Czinkota (1951– November 23, 2022) was an American international business and trade theorist and a longtime Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Czinkota is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary o ...
(Georgetown University), Ilkka A. Ronkainen (Georgetown University), Michael H. Moffett (Thunderbird School of Global Management), August 2010, ©2011 pgs. 675-678 *How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Import Export Business: With Companion CD-ROM, Maritza Manresa, Paperback, Atlantic Publishing Company April 1, 2010, pg. 101 *The $100 Start Up: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future, 2012, pgs. 103, 270, 276


External links


Heritage Link Brands, LLCSeven Sisters WineryM'hudi WineryOne World wines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuffe, Selena 1975 births Living people Businesspeople from California Harvard Business School alumni People from Culver City, California Stanford University alumni American women in business People from Ladera Heights, California 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American businesspeople 20th-century African-American women