Cerrone Lundy is a seasoned brand consultant (and new dad!) whose experience spans management consulting, brand strategy, advertising, innovation, and nonprofit consulting with clients as varied as juice and G.I. Joes, social impact and social media, mental health and dental health.

But his professional experience is only a small piece of the puzzle. Cerrone shared, “I’ve experienced finding my voice in a room of people that don’t look like me and bringing to life a divergent perspective to those that haven’t had my life journey. I’ve experienced finding community in unexpected places and finding isolation in places of gathering. I’ve experienced leaning on the wisdom of others and having others lean on my wisdom. These are, I think, the experiences that make a good thought partner, and these are also the experiences I try to bring to my work at BBMG.”

We’re excited to have Cerrone on the team with his passion for unlocking human potential, his enthusiasm for purpose-driven brands, and his lived experience overcoming obstacles.

To welcome him on board, we peppered him with a few questions, starting with a big one: What drives you?

I am passionate about seeing people reach their full potential. I genuinely believe that there is nothing more amazing than seeing the joy and happiness of someone who feels fully self-actualized as well as the amazing things that they do for their community and their world.

The problem is that there is so much that is constantly stopping that. Things like systemic racism, economic inequality, negative externalities due to climate change, the list goes on and on, of things that make achieving our full potential nearly impossible. That’s why I feel like the work we do is so important. We do what we can to help organizations address these things that stifle the achievement of individual potential, which not only helps people live better lives but makes for a better world.

Is there a person or experience – or book, movie, song – that helped shape you and how you approach life?

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a really powerful book that provides a lot of useful and practical lessons. While I do believe that some of the perspectives come from a place of privilege that I don’t necessarily have, a lot of the core ideas – such as finding opportunities in obstacles – has given me the optimism and perseverance that has helped me get to where I am.

In a career that’s spanned brand innovation, management consulting, nonprofit leadership, and consumer research and insights, how do you see BBMG as the natural next chapter? 

Throughout my career I’ve searched for a role that lets me do the three things that I love the most: be creative, be analytic, and be a positive force for change. In most of my roles I’ve been able to be one or maybe two of those things, but never all three at the same time. BBMG is one of the few organizations out there that really encourages all three with each and every project. It is actually hard to think of a role more perfectly suited for me.

And what are you most excited to do in your role as Head of Strategy?

I’m most excited to play an active role in the positive social outcomes that our clients create as well as helping to grow the next generation of socially minded consultants.

Describe the future you want in five words:

The unlocked potential of Humanity

From your perspective, what’s the role of brands in making that future a reality?

Brands have the power to mobilize minds, bodies, and resources at a scale matched only (potentially) by governments. A powerful brand can influence how people think, what they do, how they treat each other, how they treat the planet, how they dream, what tools they use, and virtually every aspect of our lives.

While this is undoubtedly a double edged sword, the beneficial edge has brought us medicines that have saved millions of lives, technology that unlocked our creativity in new ways, and started conversations about how we treat each other as human beings. I believe the right combination of brands – led, of course, by the right people – can play a key role in helping humanity simply do better.

When BBMG finally starts its cover band, with you as the lead singer, what song should we cover first?

“Imagine” by John Lennon