For Event Hosts

Introduction bios.

Two ready-to-read introductions for whoever is bringing Antoine to the stage. Copy the one that fits your run of show — no download, no forms.

Full Introduction About 40 seconds

Our speaker has spent more than thirty years in technology, shaping how people connect and collaborate at MetLife, Cisco, AT&T, Discover Financial Services, and today at Eaton Corporation, where he leads programs in cybersecurity.

But ask him what he does, and he'll tell you he builds ideas that become movements.

He is the founder of Sankofa Innovations and the Sankofa Incubator, a nonprofit introducing young people of color to the power of Black philanthropy. He created DoBetterSafeSpaces, where Black men support one another through the things men don't usually say out loud. He hosts theforcedpivot Podcast. And he leads Letters to My 13-Year-Old Self, a national storytelling movement that has gathered wisdom from more than two hundred Black men, ages twenty-one to ninety-four.

He is an author, a Goodman Fellow with Leadership Triangle, a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and 100 Black Men of Triangle East, and a former North Carolina Fatherhood Conference Father of the Year. He and his wife Cynthia celebrate thirty years of marriage this December.

His message is a simple one: no life is lived in a straight line.

Please welcome Antoine Medley.

Short Introduction About 20 seconds

Antoine Medley has spent thirty years in technology and a lifetime in service. He is the founder of Sankofa Innovations, host of theforcedpivot Podcast, and the force behind Letters to My 13-Year-Old Self, a national movement gathering wisdom from more than two hundred Black men. He speaks on resilience, reinvention and legacy — and he'll tell you that no life is lived in a straight line. Please welcome Antoine Medley.

Optional Line Use only if Antoine has agreed

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011, he decided it would sharpen his work rather than slow it.

In the full introduction, this goes immediately before "His message is a simple one." Please confirm with Antoine before using it.

Notes for the reader

  • Numbers are spelled out on purpose. "Thirty years," "twenty-one to ninety-four." People stumble over digits when reading aloud. Swap them back to numerals if you'd rather.
  • theforcedpivot is one word, all lowercase — the name of the podcast.
  • Sankofa is pronounced san-KOH-fah.
  • Want it tailored? If you'd like the introduction shaped around your theme, your organization or your audience, Antoine is glad to help. Just send a note.
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