Founder & Executive Chairman, Akola

Brittany is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Akola, “She Works”, the premiere social impact brand in the luxury space that sells high- fashion jewelry retailing at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom. At Akola, with every unit sold, a woman’s life changes and her family is transformed.

Akola offers employment, economic mobility, and empowerment for women in need in Uganda. Over the past 15 years, Brittany and the Akola team have worked to build Akola’s manufacturing business in rural Uganda, exclusively employing women in poverty who care for an average of 9 dependents. Back in the states, Brittany and the Akola team have built a retail brand selling in top retail brands throughout the country. Simultaneously, the organization operates Akola Academy, a non-profit, teaching Akola women to use their income to transform the lives of their families and communities.

Brittany is honored to be a part of creating a high-impact hybrid model paving the way for other businesses that seek to change the world. Akola’s model aligns with strong market trends including women’s empowerment, vertical integration, transparency, sustainable sourcing, and social impact.

Brittany has been featured on the Katie Couric Show, CNN, Fox Business and in Modern Luxury. Akola jewelry has been featured on the pages of Vogue, Town and Country, Harper’s Bazaar, and People Style Watch.

Brittany has a Master’s degree in Inter-cultural Studies and worked for over 4 years as an Adjunct Professor of Social Innovation at Souther Methodist University. Today, Brittany continues her work at Akola as Executive Chairman and Founder and serves on the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa to advise the U.S. President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on ways to strengthen commercial engagement between the United States and Africa.

LINKS

• LinkedIn

• Akola
  

Awards:

• 2018: Named one of 25 people reshaping the future of retail by the National Retail Federation

• 2017: Named one of the World’s Top 10 CEOs by Inc Magazine

• 2016: Awarded a silver medal from the Business & Interfaith Peace Award given by the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation

• 2014: Named the ‘Best Person in the World” by Yahoo

• 2014: Honored by clothing manufacturer Levi as one of 50 women around the globe who have changed the political, cultural, and spiritual shape of the future

• 2014: Awarded the Young Leader Award by the Dallas Women’s Foundation

• 2013: Awarded the Emerging Leader Award by Southern Methodist University