Kojo and Cedric are two former athletes turned business leaders that will share their insights, opinions and experiences on a wide range of topics.
Cedric Clark
Sporting Goods selling fishing licenses. Cedric’s trajectory would quickly lead him into senior leadership roles (Market Asset Protection Manager, Regional Asset Protection Director, Regional Operations Support Director, Market Manager, Director of Operations, Regional General Manager and VP – Regional General Manager) over 13 years. Cedric took an opportunity at PetSmart to lead they entire organization operationally. In that role he broadened his skill set to understand the complete mechanism of retail. He had had dotted line responsibilities within Logistics, Merchandising, Communications, to just name a few. After an almost two year stent with PetSmart, Cedric was externally recruited back to Walmart but within the Sam’s Club (Wholesale) business model.
Currently, Cedric is a Sam’s Club’s Regional Vice President for the South Central. He invests his time and efforts, on the ground, developing his team of more than 14 thousand associates within 87 Clubs. The role is high-contact and requires Cedric to pivot often and address the needs of his diverse teams in an effort to increase productivity and performance.
Looking into Cedric’s early life, he was military kid. Like most, Cedric learned to be nimble and adjust to new environments as his family frequently relocated across the globe. He returned to the states in 1996 and turned down an acceptance letter from The Juilliard School in New York out of high school and chose to use his hands to palm a basketball at Division 1 Washington State University instead. Cedric’s skills would ultimately lead him overseas again, this time to play post college basketball in New Zealand.
Being blessed to have numerous early international experiences, he continues to apply his versatility to his professional environments and personal mentorships.
Cedric now resides in Houston, Texas with his family.
Kojo Mensah-Bonsu
Kojo was born and raised in North London, England to Ghanaian parents. As a teen Kojo choose to fulfill a dream and pursue a Division-1 basketball scholarship.
While still in high school Kojo would later move to the US (Washington DC area) by himself. After which he attended Champlain College (VT) and later transferred to Washington State University (WA). Where there he lettered in basketball and captained the teams at both institutions. After a successful career in college, Kojo was presented with opportunities to play professionally.
His professional career afforded him the opportunity to travel the world. Most of which was spent primarily playing all over Europe for 6 years, before retiring. Kojo’s post professional athletic career has been on the business side of information technology. That has encompassed IT hardware and software sales, IT consulting services and software virtualization. Currently he occupies a leadership role for a global organization in the US. Kojo feels blessed to have a full and happy life with his wife and 3 kids.