Steve Stoute

Author, Founder & CEO of Translation LLC

Steve Stoute is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of leading brand-marketing firm Translation. His track record as a consumer brand marketer for Fortune 500 companies makes him one of today’s most influential voices in entertainment marketing and pop culture. With a diverse client roster that includes brands such as McDonald’s, State Farm, Target, Estee Lauder, Budweiser, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Lady Gaga, Stoute continues to revolutionize the way blue-chip marketers and superstar artists connect with consumers.

Whether he’s turning a jingle into a hit single for Wrigley’s, marrying the work of fashion icon Valentino with technology from Samsung, or making Gwen Stefani relevant to mothers with cameras, some of today’s most innovative marketing efforts are the brainchild of Stoute. His strategic insights were behind McDonald’s recent broad, long-term partnership with LeBron James, Samsung’s limited-edition Beyoncé-branded B’Phone, McDonald’s iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign featuring Justin Timberlake, Tommy Hilfiger’s True Star fragrance for women with Beyoncé, and the record-breaking Carol’s Daughter fragrance My Life by Mary J. Blige.

In 2007, Translation became part of the Interpublic Group, one of the world’s premier advertising and marketing services companies. In the following year, he expanded Translation’s footprint by partnering with Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter to co-found Translation Advertising, which specializes in the cross-cultural market. In 2009, the American Advertising Federation inducted Stoute into the Advertising Hall of Achievement, the industry’s premier award for outstanding advertising professionals age 40 and under. In 2010, Stoute was recognized as “Innovator of the Year” at the ADCOLOR awards ceremony, an initiative launched by the ADCOLOR Industry Coalition, to promote increased diversity in the advertising, marketing and media industries.

From 1990 to 1999, Stoute was a senior executive at several leading labels in the music industry. At Interscope Geffen A&M Records, he served as president of the Urban Music division and Executive Vice President. Prior to joining Interscope, he was President of Urban Music for Sony Music Entertainment.

In 1999, he was honored with an American Music Award as Producer of the soundtrack for the motion picture Wild, Wild West. In addition, he executive produced the Academy Award-winning film 8 Mile starring Eminem in 2002.

In the same way that he has spearheaded campaigns that seamlessly marry high-profile celebrities and Fortune 500 companies, Stoute formed a partnership with Brooklyn-born beauty brand Carol’s Daughter in 2005. Intrigued by the company’s homespun roots and Founder Lisa Price’s uncanny authenticity, Stoute took the brand from a single-store operation in Brooklyn, NY to a multi-million dollar beauty empire that boasts over 1,000 points of distribution across beauty giants such as SEPHORA, Macy’s & Dillard’s, with investors including Will & Jada Pinkett-Smith, Jimmy Iovine, Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige. In addition to identifying and securing strategic partnerships with Disney for a Princess-inspired line of products, a record-breaking fragrance with HSN that launched on television without consumers smelling it, and a rebranding campaign featuring Solange Knowles, Selita Ebanks and Cassie, Stoute continues to push the brand to excellence by driving its business strategies and overall growth.

Stoute’s inspiring personal success story has been recognized and celebrated on TV and in print. He has appeared in the critically acclaimed HBO series and book “The Black List Project,” featuring interviews and portraits with leading African-American figures on being black in America. In 2010, he was chosen as one of four extraordinary Americans featured in Target’s dare.dream.do national multi-cultural campaign in honor of Black History Month.

Stoute is involved in a variety of civic causes. In 2008, he joined forces with Mary J. Blige to cofound the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN), whose mission is to educate and empower women through scholarships, grants and career development opportunities. In 2009, they opened their first facility, the Mary J. Blige Center for Women in Yonkers, New York.

In addition, he has also played a key role in the development of minority recruitment campaigns for both the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) and the New York City Police Department. For his work on the “Heroes Wanted” campaign, Stoute was honored with the 2004 Humanitarian Award from the FDNY. In 2003, he served as the Co-Chairman of the New York City Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit program offering minority children an opportunity to experience life outside the confines of the inner city.