Joy Profet

Joy Profet is the Chief Operating Officer for Essence Communications with responsibilities over the brand’s strategic, financial, planning and administrative functions. In this role, Joy partners with ESSENCE’s leadership team to design and execute the brand’s consumer touch-points across all media platforms. She also has direct management of the ESSENCE Festival and its international branded extensions, as well as the brand’s newly formed Live Events and Experiential division.

Since joining ESSENCE in July 2008, Joy has been integral in helping to craft and execute the strategic vision for the company, which includes multi-media expansion into digital, television, film, live events and other forms of media targeted to the African-American market. During her tenure, Joy’s mission has been to help leverage the strength of the historic brand to create new opportunities for marketers to connect with this audience. ESSENCE’s diverse media and entertainment properties include ESSENCE magazine, the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; its online destination, Essence.com; and the ESSENCE Festival—the nation’s largest annual consumer live event featuring an unprecedented three days of cultural celebrations and three nights of musical performances over the Fourth of July weekend in New Orleans