President & CEO ? The Buzz International Group ? New York City ? Age: 27
Marisa King-Redwood has a lot to say about her family, particularly her late father, Daniel. W. King Jr., who became an orthopedic surgeon at a time when Blacks in the United States were forced to sit at the back of the bus. ?He motivated me because I knew it wasn?t ever going to be as hard for me as it was for him. So I really had no excuse not to be successful. He was my best friend and taught me the business side of life,? she says. An only daughter, she became a mother while still in high school, but she benefited from the support of her own mother, Maria King. ?She watched my son for me so I could finish my senior year in high school and get through college. She taught me how to juggle a family successfully,? she says.
Today, King-Redwood is president and chief executive officer of her own marketing, public relations and brand development firm, the Buzz International Group, whose clients include Fashion Week and HBO/New York International Latino Film Festival.
Born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, King-Redwood earned an associate degree in business administration and marketing from Katherine Gibbs Business College and a bachelor?s in marketing from Pace University. She acquired valuable experience at Grubman Indursky P.C., an entertainment law firm, where she managed such notable accounts as Martha Stewart Living, Alicia Keys and the National Basketball Association, and at NAK Marketing & Communications Inc., where she focused on market growth for Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, a global provider of press systems for the print media industry.
King-Redwood co-founded and sits on the advisory board of the Women?s Entrepreneurial Network (W.E.N.), a non-profit organization that helps women achieve their entrepreneurial goals while maintaining proper work-life balance. She lives in White Plains, N.Y., with her husband, Darren Redwood, who, she says, supports her as she follows her dreams, and their two children.