TITLE: CEO & General Manager, Metro
STYLE:Well-suited, with pops of color
Photograph by Annette Navarro
Does being a community leader inform your style? I have a responsibility, especially as a person of color, to be a role model. I think that’s incredibly important. Most people’s perception of you is what you look like, so you have to look like you know what you’re talking about. I like when younger people can see that and be role models themselves.
How has your style evolved with your career? I wear stuff now that I would have never worn before. When I went into management I read that book Dress for Success, and they had a specific one for African-American men that emphasized not playing the stereotype. No bright colors, stuff like that. My look was pretty traditional because of that. But over time the people I worked with told me to mix it up, and I said OK. I started working with younger folks on my staff, and that’s where my style comes from. They taught me how to mix patterns.
So you’ve moved away from the basic suit. I have a lot of fun. I have a watch with the Superman logo watch face, which I wear with a Superman tie, Superman cufflinks, Superman socks, and Superman colors on the pocket square. I’ll do all the same for Batman and Darth Vader. It’s my version of casual Friday. I’ve got bow ties for the superheroes, too.
Bow ties seem to pop up a lot in your outfits. There are nine historically black fraternities and sororities, so at first, I wore those colors on the bow ties. Things picked up from there. In October, I’ll wear breast cancer awareness bow ties. I’ve got over 100 bow ties. It depends on the mood. I never want to be dull.
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