Desiree Rogers gives keys to her success

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The chief executive of black publishing giant Johnson Publishing Co., in Birmingham today to speak at a business luncheon, says companies must be willing to adapt to succeed in today's economic climate.

Desiree Rogers, who has been credited with helping revitalize Johnson's magazine empire since taking the helm at the Chicago company a year ago, said businesses struggling to recover from the recent economic downturn must be willing to re-invent themselves.

"The world around us is changing so quickly. The ability to change with the times is the key to success," said Rogers, who made a dramatic career move last year, transitioning from 14 months as the first black social secretary at the White House to becoming chief executive at Johnson Publishing.

Rogers is in Birmingham as luncheon keynote speaker for the Birmingham Business Alliance's African American Business Council's 25th Annual Luncheon. The event takes place at noon today at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center on U.S. 280.

At the luncheon, the African American Business Council will name its 2011 Minority/Women Breakout Business of the Year and Start-Up Business of the Year. A limited number of $40 luncheon tickets may be available at the door, BBA spokeswoman Brannon Dawkins said.

Alicia White of JMA Realty, chairwoman of the African American Business Council, said Rogers' talk about how she helped turn around Johnson Publishing will be timely for business attendees. The company's Ebony and Jet magazines, staples in the black community for more than six decades, had struggled with readership and advertising losses over the past few years.

Addressing a crowd of guests at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center, the former White House social secretary said at the top of her list was stressing the importance of realizing that the nation as a whole is experiencing a period of transition. That philosophy helped Rogers gain understanding about her role while serving at the White House in 2008.

“We were trying to work together to move the White House in a direction it had never been before,” said the New Orleans native.

Rogers had to learn to build events and a White House atmosphere that reflected the Obamas while holding true to its traditions, she said.

“We are rebuilding the future and looking at things in new and different ways,” she said.

Rogers joined Johnson Publishing Co. in August 2010 after initially serving as a consultant to the company. Before joining the company, the Harvard Business School graduate spent 15 months as the country’s first African-American to hold the White House social secretary position.

The African-American Business Council is a part of the Birmingham Business Alliance.