a team that generates nearly $1 billion dollars
in annual sales. He was the first African-Amer-
ican man to hold the title, Head of Marketing
and was recently promoted to Vice President
& US Country Head, Diversity and Inclusion.
He earned a BA in Marketing and a MBA in
Management.
Brooks is consistently recognized for
his outstanding business achievements.
He has won numerous awards including;
Director of the Year, MVP, Training Excel-
lence, Business Leader of the Year, Pres-
ident's Award for Community Service,
World-Wide Franchise Awards and Business
Excellence Awards. He is also a recognized
expert in emotional intelligence, corporate
culture, and career development.
Yet, for all his accolades and success,
Brooks is quick to point to his grandmother
“Sunshine” as his saving grace. She invested
in him, encouraged him and supported him
into adulthood. Paying it forward, he has
established Sunshine’s Open Door Foun-
dation, a nonprofit, in her honor, which
helps foster children successfully transition
to independence. Brooks serves as Board
Chairman for the foundation based in his
hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. He has
also dedicated time and resources to other
charitable causes including HOPE World-
wide Saturday Academy (Newark, NJ).
Giving back and investing in others has
become synonymous with his life’s work. And
because of his generosity, everything he gives
away comes back to him fourfold. Brooks
was actually investing in someone else when
the seed was planted for his bestselling book,
What You Don’t Know Is Hurting You: 4 Keys to
a Phenomenal Career. Not only has his book
soared, so has he.
When I connected with Brooks for the
interview scheduled two weeks earlier, he
had just arrived in New York from Germany
and had been in meetings all day. I quickly
offered to postpone the interview and he
said, “No, no, no” and assured me it was fine
to proceed. After about 30 minutes, I told
him I wanted to be mindful of his time and
began wrapping up with my apologies for
the bad timing. He said, “You don’t have to
cut it short, this energizes me.”
Always giving of himself—this is what
Marion E. Brooks is all about. He is also
very transparent about his life and the
hurdles he had growing up. Where others
might shun their humble beginnings, he
embraces and leverages them to inspire
others and demonstrate how the grace of
God works through you when you offer
yourself to Christ to be used for his glory.
In allowing his life to be used to give
God glory, Dr. King orchestrated change
for civil and human rights, inspiring others
around the world. Now that many of those
rights have been realized, Brooks is allowing
his life to be used to empower others to get
to the next level. For example, it is one thing
to get a job; it is another to move beyond
entry or mid-level to senior and executive
management level positions.
What You Don’t Know Is Hurting You: 4
Keys To A Phenomenal Career provides the
tools to succeed at any level. We will take
a look at Brooks’ success and how he got
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