Kendra Bracken-Ferguson

Born in Germany, growing up in Texas, and beginning adulthood in New York, Kendra Bracken-Ferguson has made it a business practice to build data-first businesses around niche influencers and talent primarily focused on lifestyle, beauty, and wellness. Bracken-Ferguson was credited with launching the first mobile music studio licensing and rev share deal between unsigned bands, Cingular Wireless, and Myspace in 2003 and has continued to build revenue-generating brand partnerships and opportunities ever since.

Before starting her journey as an Entrepreneur, Bracken-Ferguson helped create the social media footprint for fashion behemoth Ralph Lauren, where she was the company’s first Director of Digital Media. Bracken-Ferguson's work during and since her time at Ralph Lauren was informed by her years as Vice President of Digital at Fleishman-Hillard, New York, where she led the digital consumer team in developing social media strategies for clients including AT&T, DKNY, and P&G.

Allowing her mantra, “Carpe Diem,” to guide her, in 2010, Bracken-Ferguson took a leap of faith and, along with Karen Robinovitz, created Digital Brand Architects (DBA), the first blogger management agency evolved into a global company that, upon exit to UTA in 2019, had a collective reach of 200 million. Post DBA, Kendra founded BrainTrust, a social media and brand development agency that drove the digital brand strategy and online media presence for talent and global brands such as Halle Berry, Kelly Ripa Home, Dear Drew by Drew Barrymore, Revelations Entertainment, Sally Beauty, Under Armour and many more before merging the agency into CAA-GBG (Creative Artists Agency and Global Brands Group Holding Limited), the largest brand management agency in the world, becoming their first Chief Digital Officer to drive monetizable commercialization strategies for brands and talent. After CAA-GBG, Kendra created a strategic partnership for BrainTrust with Beautycon, the fastest-growing, immersive beauty experiential company in the world. After a long-standing relationship as Halle Berry’s Business Partner, the two launched rē•spin, Berry’s new health and wellness brand, in 2020.

In carrying the legacy of BrainTrust, Bracken-Ferguson founded BrainTrust Founders Studio in 2021, now the largest membership-based platform designed for diverse founders of beauty and wellness companies that has not only changed the face of beauty but also empowered overlooked business owners to enter the room and sit at the tables of capital and wealth generation. She is also a General Partner in the adjacent BrainTrust Fund I, dedicated to investing in breakthrough beauty and wellness brands.

Bracken-Ferguson hosts the "Business of the Beat" podcast, which sheds light on the business of beauty through the eyes of BIPOC founders, senior executives, influencers, and operators who are in the process of starting, growing, and scaling their businesses. With a focus on empowering and inspiring diverse leaders in the beauty and wellness industry, this podcast features over 170 episodes, and season four is now underway. Each episode uncovers key takeaways and behind-the-scenes stories of entrepreneurs, highlighting the beauty of their success.

Bracken-Ferguson's first book, "The Beauty of Success: Start, Grow and Accelerate Your Brand," was released in February of 2024 and was named the #1 New Release in Business Entrepreneurship on Amazon.

As much as she does, she also gives. A noted philanthropist, mentor, and advisor, Bracken-Ferguson has received numerous awards and has an endowment at her alma mater, Purdue University, for a female student of need in the School of Liberal Arts. She is the recent recipient of the U.S. Black Chamber Power 50, WWD 25 Most Influential Women, BeautyMatter Next winner, Named Top Black Women in Beauty by Essence Magazine, Glossy 50, and a host of other awards highlighting her innovative approach to brand development and work in the community to support diverse founders.