Outfitted in Dallas Mavericks’ blue and a bright pink business suit, Mavs CEO Cynt Marshall bounced to an energetic beat as she opened the 2020 D CEO Women’s Leadership Symposium last Thursday.
The event was created five years ago to inject attendees with hope and encouragement as leaders, like Marshall, and to share their unique journeys, insights and experiences during their personal lives and careers.
Marshall was the keynote speaker for the inaugural leadership symposium in 2016 when she was an executive at AT&T. Leaders said her path to become the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks and the NBA’s first black female CEO makes her message more important than ever.
Marshall has overcome a number of challenges in her life — from growing up in public housing and being a victim of domestic violence to battling cancer and overcoming loss, D CEO leaders said. But she has emerged victorious, climbing the corporate ladder at AT&T and now leading a well-respected NBA team’s front office.
When Marshall took the podium she focused her message on four direct questions: “Why me? Why you? Why not us? Why now?”
She said when symposium leaders gave her these questions, she had to dig deep and take a personal journey of discovery, especially amid global unrest and a unique period in world history.
“I had to start thinking about why have certain things happened in my life,” Marshall said. “Why was I born in Birmingham, Alabama? Why did I have parents from the South, the Jim Crow segregated South? Why did I have a childhood growing up in the projects and see a man shoot a man in self-defense? Why did I witness that?
“Why did my mother put a Bible and math book in my hands from an early age? Why did I have a police officer take me to school as a seventh-grader? Why did he spend his life doing exactly what was asked, to protect and serve? Why so many first experiences in college? The first African-American cheerleader at Berkeley and in my sorority. The first of so many things. Why me? Why me?”
Marshall said she went on to ask herself, “Why did I have so many second trimester miscarriages? And a daughter that died at six months old?’ ”
After days of reflection, the leader of the Mavericks said her faith reminded her that there’s a reason for every single thing in her life. She is confident it has all contributed to her purpose, and she asked listeners to ask themselves the same questions.
“All of it equipped me ‘for such a time as this.’ ” Marshall shared, referring to the Biblical passage from Esther 4:14 that asks the same question. “For such a time as this in Dallas. Why me, why Dallas, why you, why now?”
Marshall said it became very clear to her why everything happened in her life, and it hit her on June 9. She has been equipped her entire life to serve as CEO of the Mavericks and hold a leadership position to help people overcome their own personal challenges. Marshall’s mission is important, she said, especially when it comes to openly discussing social injustice, diversity, and systemic inequities to combat race in America and within business organizations.
She encouraged attendees to go make a list and ask themselves these same questions to help them ponder their purpose during uncertain times.
The Mavericks have recently created a new initiative to address and help alleviate systemic inequities called Mavs Take ACTION, which stands for Advocacy, Communication, Training, Investment, Outreach and Noise (the organization will use their voice for change). Furthermore, Marshall said the Mavericks Foundation has donated millions of dollars to area non-profits to assist children, women and families in need.
“In Dallas we want to bring people to the table,” Marshall concluded. “We want to ask them to dance, bring them to the dance floor…and (encourage) them to bring their authentic selves. So, ‘Why now?’
“Our future is counting on us to get this inclusion, belonging and equity climate right. We’ve got to create a community that is focused on equality, equity and justice. People say we’re in a movement right now. You know what I say? This is our moment in the movement. This movement has been going on for a long time, but this is our moment in the movement.”
Yes, we all are dancing behind the scenes with @dallasmavs leader @cyntmarshall #DCEOWomen pic.twitter.com/gtUdsojyRH
— D CEO magazine (@DCEOmagazine) July 16, 2020
Such a inspiration from someone who is blazing trails for all women. Thank you Cynt Marshall and #DCEOWomen @NTX_Market pic.twitter.com/Eyhcs1E7jI
— Laticia Bowie (@LaticiaBowie) July 16, 2020
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