Kudzi Chikumbu keynote speaker

Empowered by his message that "authenticity is your cheat code to success", Kudzi Chikumbu is a lifestyle influencer and the Global Head of Creator Marketing at TikTok where he is responsible for connecting and building the creator community through creator marketing, partnerships, and creator education all while advocating for diversity, inclusion & representation online. Kudzi's passion comes from his background as a creator where he learned first-hand how video content can help you find your tribe, feel a sense of worthiness and encourage people to live more authentically fulfilling lives. He currently works at the intersection of digital content, community, and communications to help change the face of culture online by discovering and amplifying diverse trailblazing talent. As a speaker, Kudzi focuses on inspirational career advice to motivate young professionals and creatives to embrace their personal stories to drive impactful results.

Kudzi was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa which informed his strong views on race relations and diversity across the world. He began his business career as an accountant and management consultant at Deloitte in South Africa. After which he enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he completed his MBA before starting his career in the entertainment industry.

A torchbearer for authenticity, Kudzi is also an advocate for making the world of luxury lifestyle more inclusive which he displays in his candle-loving accounts as "Sir Candle Man" which aims to bring a new, relatable, diverse, and inclusive voice to the fragrance industry. Sir Candle Man has been featured in The Hollywood Reporter, WWD, NY Mag, and on The Rachael Ray Show. Kudzi released his book, Let It Burn: Illuminate Your Life with Candles & Fragrance, which offers a guide to loving candles and using the magic of fragrance to help create beautiful spaces in your life.

Kudzi lives in Los Angeles and has been listed in Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list, The Hollywood Reporter's Next Gen: Hollywood’s 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under. He received ADCOLOR's Innovator Award, a distinction that recognizes "an employee who embodies progress and imagination," and who consistently "stands out among peers as an inclusion game changer and brilliant pioneer in their role, creating breakthrough developments and/or improvements, whether tangible or intangible." More recently, Kudzi was awarded AdWeek's Experiential Executive of The Year, The Culture Creators Tech Honoree, and Variety's Hollywood's New Leaders.