Innovation inspired by Black leaders

Black History Month is a time to reflect on historical figures. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate those making history today.

Kay I., a senior product manager at ServiceNow, and her sister Riwo came to the United States from Nigeria to attend university. Kay’s path to ServiceNow started through our hackathons—events for developers to rapidly prototype ideas using the Now Platform. Today, Kay volunteers to ensure girls in Nigeria have access to AI education and aren’t left behind the tech revolution.

Eleanor B., senior staff outbound product manager at ServiceNow, also came from humble beginnings. Inspired by her late father, she strives to achieve what’s possible and not settle for the status quo.

In this video, these two Black leaders share their stories about perseverance, community, and innovation:

Forging bonds, finding strength

Riwo is currently pursuing her master’s degree and attributes her success to Kay. “When I made the President’s List in school this year, I owed that to her,” Riwo says. “She pushes me to do better, and I am always inspired by her work ethic.”

Kay reciprocates the sentiment. “I’m so proud of my sister. She’s doing an extraordinary job, excelling in her education, and it’s really amazing to see,” Kay says.

Motivated by her upbringing, Eleanor attended Stanford University. “My father was born in 1935 outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, and grew up in a sharecropping family,” she says. “He was the first in his family to go to university and later earned his Ph.D. at Berkeley.”

While at Stanford, Eleanor met Yvonne J., and the two built a deep sisterhood. “I think having strong friendships and sisterhoods is important because life gets real,” Eleanor says. “My father passed away over a decade ago, and Yvonne was there for his funeral.”

Eleanor adds, “Making my way through traditionally challenging environments—whether it’s investment banking, tech, or being the only person of color, much less the only woman, in the room—it’s been empowering to have others going through the same thing or who have navigated similar paths.”

Recognizing powerful influences

Kay draws inspiration from Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization. “Whenever I think about pushing hard or getting tired because I’ve been in places where I feel like I’m standing out as a Black woman with a different accent, I think of what she must have gone through in her career,” Kay says. “She kept pushing, and now she’s on the world stage.”

Eleanor highlights both past and present Black leaders who stimulate her to push on. “Dr. Ruthie Lyle, who is now at NVIDIA (a ServiceNow partner) with over 200 patents in her area, is an unsung hero and incredibly inspiring,” Eleanor says.

“And from history, W.E.B. Du Bois is a great inspiration,” she continues. “He believed in the advancement of Black people all over the world through education and by focusing on development in business and science.”

Shaping a new future

Eleanor draws strength from her father “to always strive for the best, work hard, and appreciate both where I came from and what’s possible to achieve,” she says.

She’s taking classes in machine learning and large language models (LLMs) and is enthusiastic about the role of AI in shaping tech and beyond. “AI is really supercharging the digital transformation we’ve been talking about for the past decade,” Eleanor says.

As part of that, she adds, all industries and jobs are being affected, giving rise to new openings for nontraditional talent. "I think there’s opportunities for those who have not taken traditional paths to kind of leap over the traditional institution and traditional paths to become experts in leveraging the latest AI tools,” she explains.

Kay agrees. “At ServiceNow, we're building conversational AI experiences that help customers and agents work faster, reducing response times and driving greater efficiency. This innovation translates to more equitable access to technology,” she says.

“As a Black professional in this space,” Kay continues, “it’s exciting to witness the growing representation of Black talent in tech. AI’s future is bright. Over the next five to 10 years, I believe it will gain even broader acceptance, breaking down barriers and creating more opportunities for all.”

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