Mia Mends

Born in Accra, Ghana, Mia came to the U.S. at age eight with her parents, two sisters, and nothing more than their suitcases. She went on to Wellesley and Harvard (MBA), and then Citigroup, United Airlines, and PreCash, a fintech startup, before landing at Sodexo in 2012. In a decade, Mia ascended through eight jobs, including leading SodexoMagic, a joint venture between the food service and facilities management giant and Magic Johnson Enterprises. Now at C&W Services, she oversees 13,000 people—85% of them frontline workers—and is focused on scaling their economic opportunities. Mia is on the board of H&R Block.