# Selena Cuffe

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**Selena Cuffe**, née Saunders (born 5 November 1975 in [Culver City, California](/source/Culver_City,_California)) is an American [businesswoman](/source/Businessperson). She is best known for co-founding Heritage Link Brands, LLC, the largest global importer of black produced wine, with her husband, Khary Cuffe.[1] In January 2024, Selena Cuffe was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank, Los Angeles Board of Directors.[2]

## Early life and education

The only joint child of Dr. Joseph Saunders and Veronica Saunders, Cuffe was raised in the [View Park-Windsor Hills](/source/View_Park-Windsor_Hills) community of [Los Angeles County, California](/source/Los_Angeles_County,_California), [United States](/source/United_States) by her mother. Cuffe's father, Joseph, died one month before her second birthday.

Cuffe's paternal great-grandfather, J. Saunders, was born into slavery. A descendant of the [Ashanti tribe](/source/Ashanti_tribe) of [Ghana](/source/Ghana), he was freed by the [Emancipation Proclamation](/source/Emancipation_Proclamation) at the age of eight. He had 16 children, the youngest of whom was Cuffe's grandfather, Titus Saunders Sr., a de-segregationist of the [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)) public school system who founded the state's first integrated school transportation system. Both of Cuffe's paternal grandparents graduated from college in the 1920s.

Cuffe graduated with an AB in International Relations from [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University). During college, she became a member of [Delta Sigma Theta](/source/Delta_Sigma_Theta) sorority. She also completed the Sponsors for Education opportunity (SEO) program, where she interned for an investment bank on Wall Street.[3] Cuffe also holds a [Master of Business Administration](/source/Master_of_Business_Administration), with honors, from the [Harvard Business School](/source/Harvard_Business_School) and is certified, with merit, by the [Wine and Spirits Educational Trust](/source/Wine_and_Spirits_Educational_Trust).[4] Cuffe is chair of the Nominating & Governance committee of the Harvard Business School Women's Student Association Alumnae Advisory Board, Vice President Emeritus of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board, and she currently serves on Stanford University's Bing Overseas Studies Program Advisory Council.

## Early career

Early in her career, Cuffe worked for [United Airlines](/source/United_Airlines). During her tenure at the airline, her responsibilities included territorial sales, the promotion of new routes, and business development initiatives related to [united.com](/source/United.com) and the launch of online travel websites, [Hotwire](/source/Hotwire.com) and [Orbitz](/source/Orbitz).[5]

She received her marketing training from the [Procter & Gamble Company](/source/Procter_%26_Gamble_Company) in [Cincinnati, Ohio](/source/Cincinnati,_Ohio), where she served as Assistant Brand Manager for the [Pringles](/source/Pringles) brand,. Her primary responsibility was managing marketing plans for the [Brazil](/source/Brazil) and [Mexico](/source/Mexico) markets.[6]

In her final position before founding Heritage Link Brands, LLC, Selena was a Director for the [Council on International Educational Exchange](/source/Council_on_International_Educational_Exchange) (CIEE), overseeing the promotion of student and work exchanges for 50,000+ people worldwide.[7] She left CIEE in January 2007 to work for Heritage Link Brands, LLC full-time.

## Heritage Link Brands

While on an unrelated business trip to [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) in September 2005, Cuffe decided to visit the first annual Soweto Wine Festival in [Johannesburg](/source/Johannesburg), organised by the Cape Wine Academy.[8] There, she met vintners from the Seven Sisters winery,[9] one of the only black-owned wineries in South Africa. The Seven Sisters were having difficulty exporting to the United States and finding a distributor in their local market. At the same festival Cuffe found that out of South Africa's $3-billion wine industry, less than two percent was owned by blacks.[10] Seeing the inequality – blacks made up over 80 percent of the country's population – and wanting to help the indigenous vintners she had encountered, Cuffe began to craft the idea Heritage Link Brands, LLC.

Heritage Link Brands was founded in October 2005. Cuffe remained with the Council on International Educational Exchange while she financed the new company with her savings and credit cards. In 2006 she brought M'hudi, the first black owned family vineyard in South Africa, post-apartheid into the company's wine portfolio. In January 2007, Cuffe left her job to run Heritage Link Brands, LLC. In the following month, February, the wines were first launched in a test market with [Whole Foods Market](/source/Whole_Foods_Market).

That spring, Heritage Link Brands Wine Club and Shop were established, and [TIME magazine](/source/Time_(magazine)) featured Cuffe and her company in September 2007,[11] exactly two years after Cuffe visited the Soweto Wine Festival. Heritage Link Brands wine can now be found in over 40 states.[12] The company also imports wines from the [Fair Trade certified](/source/Fair_Trade_certified) community of Koopmanskloof (producing under the label One World).[13] One World holds the distinction of being the first Fair Trade certified wine to be served onboard any US airline.[14][15]

Heritage Link Brands has since expanded its horizontal and vertical presence within the wine industry. In 2015, Cuffe began importing wine from France to produce the house red and white wine for the musical *[Waitress](/source/Waitress_(musical))*, Broadway's first ever, all-female creative production team in history.[16] Tickets for the world premiere production sold out. Heritage Link Brands also produces the house wine for Broadway plays, [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory](/source/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Factory_(musical)) and [War Paint](/source/War_Paint_(musical)).

In 2016, Cuffe negotiated exclusive rights to import award-winning Brazilian wine producer Casa Valduga, home to the largest sparkling wine cellar in South America and famously listed as one of *1,000 Places to Visit Before You Die*.[17]

In [South Africa](/source/South_Africa), in partnership with Burdell Properties, Selena Cuffe negotiated interest acquisition of Silkbush Mountain Vineyards, a 138-hectare (340-acre) property in Breedekloof, 90 km east of [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town), South Africa, in the famous Western Cape Winelands. Its cultivars, planted on sloped hillsides, up to 700 m above sea level, include: Cabernet Sauvignon (26.97 ha), Pinotage (12.85 ha), Shiraz (12.81 ha), Merlot (7.26 ha), Cabernet Franc (4.89ha), Malbec (3.55ha), Petit Verdot (3.95ha), Viognier (3.09 ha), Petit Syrah (2.59 ha), Pinot Noir (2.2ha), Grenache Noir (1.76 ha), Semillon (1.5ha), Sauvignon Blanc (1.5ha) and Mourvedre (1.35ha).

## SodexoMagic

In March 2020, Cuffe was named as president of SodexoMAGIC, a joint-venture between [Magic Johnson Enterprises](/source/Magic_Johnson_Enterprises) and [Sodexo](/source/Sodexo), Inc, based in [Beverly Hills](/source/Beverly_Hills,_California).[18][19]

## Blackstone Consulting, Inc. & RJB Properties

In April 2023, Cuffe was named Chief Growth Officer for Blackstone Consulting, Inc., an $800M, 9,000-person international service provider, minority business enterprise (MBE), and Corporate Plus member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) with a client base that includes the U.S. Department of Defense, Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, schools, universities and industrial sites. In addition, she is Chief Growth Officer of RJB Properties, Inc., a leader in the “K through 12” educational market for janitorial and maintenance services as well as higher education campuses, commercial office spaces, convention centers, military installations, and banks.

## Personal life

A mother of three children, Cuffe is married to fellow co-founder of Heritage Link Brands, Khary Cuffe, a graduate of Harvard University's Graduate School of Business and [John F. Kennedy School of Government](/source/John_F._Kennedy_School_of_Government). Khary's parents emigrated from [Jamaica](/source/Jamaica) to the United States in the 1960s. His maternal uncle is [Derrick F. Kellier](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrick_Kellier), Jamaica's former Member of Parliament and Minister of Agriculture.

## Honors

- 2022 UCLA Riordan Programs Hall of Fame Inductee [\[1\]](https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/lib/email/RIORDAN/2022/riordan-gala/#honorees)
- 2019 Brooklyn Library Women Trailblazers Award [\[2\]](https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/women-trailblazers-central-library-dweck-20190301) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240206223923/https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/women-trailblazers-central-library-dweck-20190301) 2024-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
- 2017 [Les Batisseurs de l'Économie Africaine (Africa Economy Builders Award)](http://africaeconomybuilders.org/fr/revue-de-presse/les-b%C3%A2tisseurs-de-l%E2%80%99%C3%A9conomie-africaine-j%E2%80%99y-%C3%A9tais)[dead link]
- 2016 Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations[20]
- 2016 Riordan Program Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, UCLA Anderson School of Management[21]
- 2016 Vision in Wine Award, BCAGlobal[22]
- 2015 WABF Venture Competition Judge, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business[23]
- 2015 Brooklyn Honors, Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA[24]
- 2010 League of Black Women Black Rose Award Recipient[25]
- 2009 [Black Enterprise](/source/Black_Enterprise) Magazine, "B.E. Next Entrepreneur of the Year"
- 1993 Glamour Magazine College Woman of the Year (whose winners have also included Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Condoleezza Rice, Alexandra Keeman, Martha Stewart and Diane Sawyer)

## References

1. ["African Americans find heritage in South African wines | winetimes"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100831063657/http://winetimes.co.za/2010/08/17/african-americans-find-heritage-in-south-african-wines/). Archived from [the original](http://winetimes.co.za/2010/08/17/african-americans-find-heritage-in-south-african-wines/) on 2010-08-31. Retrieved 2010-09-09.

1. ["Membership Announcements for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Los Angeles Branch Board of Directors - San Francisco Fed"](https://www.frbsf.org/news-and-media/news-articles/press-releases/2024/01/los-angeles-branch-board-of-directors-membership-announcements-2024/). 10 January 2024.

1. ["How Selena Cuffe Taught Herself The Power Steps Toward Financial Wealth"](https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/money-career/selena-cuffe/). *Essence*. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-11-12.

1. ["Alumni Bulletin - Alumni - Harvard Business School"](http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/2008/december/newsmakers.html)

1. ["Leadership"](http://www.heritagelinkbrands.com/leadership)

1. ["Leadership"](http://www.heritagelinkbrands.com/leadership)

1. ["Leadership"](http://www.heritagelinkbrands.com/leadership)

1. ["Alumni Bulletin - Alumni - Harvard Business School"](http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/2008/december/newsmakers.html)

1. ["Home"](http://www.sevensisters.co.za/). *sevensisters.co.za*

1. ["Video: Alicia Keys Weds Swizz Beatz"](http://www.theskanner.com/index.php/article/view/id/7977)

1. [Time (magazine)](https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1706699_1707550_1707698,00.html)

1. [http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6668522n&tag=mncol;lst;1](http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6668522n&tag=mncol;lst;1) [dead link]

1. [http://www.koopmanskloop.co.za](http://www.koopmanskloop.co.za) [dead link]

1. ["List: What wine, champagne and port airlines offer"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091123173024/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-11-19-chart-airline-winelist_N.htm). *[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)*. 2009-11-19. Archived from [the original](https://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-11-19-chart-airline-winelist_N.htm) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2017-10-30.

1. ["MEDIA"](http://www.heritagelinkbrands.com/media/pdf/American%20Way%2011.09.pdf)

1. Cox, Gordon (2015-12-01). ["'Waitress' Musical Serves Up Broadway's First All-Female Creative Team"](https://variety.com/2015/legit/news/waitress-musical-all-female-creative-team-1201651168/). *Variety*. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. Planet, Lonely. ["Brazil for 3 weeks in December -starting in Sao Paulo"](https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-south-america/topics/brazil-for-3-weeks-in-december-starting-in-sao-paulo). *www.lonelyplanet.com*. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. ["Magic Johnson Enterprises and Sodexo Name Selena Cuffe as President of SodexoMAGIC"](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/magic-johnson-enterprises-and-sodexo-name-selena-cuffe-as-president-of-sodexomagic-301015068.html). *PR Newswire*. Retrieved 21 April 2020.

1. ["At the top of her game, Selena Cuffe aims to create some magic"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200512192510/https://www.restaurant.org/Articles/News/Selena-Cuffe-aims-to-create-some-magic). *National Restaurant Association*. Archived from [the original](https://restaurant.org/Articles/News/Selena-Cuffe-aims-to-create-some-magic) on 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2020-05-07.

1. ["Membership Roster"](https://www.cfr.org/membership/membership-roster-a-f). *Council on Foreign Relations*. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. ["The Riordan Programs Celebrates Heroes Among Us at Annual Gala - UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog"](http://blogs.anderson.ucla.edu/anderson/2016/04/the-riordan-programs-celebrates-heroes-among-us-at-annual-gala.html). *blogs.anderson.ucla.edu*. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. ["The BCA Global Food & Wine Experience"](http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2016/apr/07/bca-global-food-wine-experience/). Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. ["Venture Competition - Wharton Africa Business Forum"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160508181229/http://wabf2015.whartonafrica.com/program/venture-competition/). *Wharton Africa Business Forum*. Archived from [the original](http://wabf2015.whartonafrica.com/program/venture-competition/) on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. ["Photos: Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA's 3rd Annual 'Brooklyn Honors' - The Brooklyn Reader"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160505084502/http://www.bkreader.com/2015/10/photos-bedford-stuyvesant-ymcas-3rd-annual-brooklyn-honors/#jp-carousel-37982). *The Brooklyn Reader*. 2015-10-16. Archived from [the original](http://www.bkreader.com/2015/10/photos-bedford-stuyvesant-ymcas-3rd-annual-brooklyn-honors/#jp-carousel-37982) on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2017-06-05.

1. ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20101214171823/http://www.leagueofblackwomen.org/ConferenceBrochure.pdf). Archived from [the original](http://www.leagueofblackwomen.org/ConferenceBrochure.pdf) on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2010-09-09.

1. Guillebeau, Chris (2012). [*The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do what You Love, and Create a New Future*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2YeBy-RlgkQC&q=selena+cuffe+books+%24100+startup&pg=PA280). Crown Business. ISBN 9780307951526.

## Publications

- International Business, 8th Edition: [Michael Czinkota](/source/Michael_Czinkota) (Georgetown University), [Ilkka A. Ronkainen](/source/Ilkka_A._Ronkainen) (Georgetown University), Michael H. Moffett (Thunderbird School of Global Management), August 2010, ©2011 pgs. 675–678
- How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Import Export Business: With Companion CD-ROM, Maritza Manresa, Paperback, Atlantic Publishing Company April 1, 2010, pg. 101
- The $100 Start Up: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future, 2012, pgs. 103, 270, 276[26]

## External links

- [Heritage Link Brands, LLC](http://www.heritagelinkbrands.com)
- [Seven Sisters Winery](http://www.sevensisters.co.za/)
- [M'hudi Winery](http://www.mhudi.com/)
- [One World wines](http://www.koopmanskloof.co.za/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Selena Cuffe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena_Cuffe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena_Cuffe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.