Juliette Powell was born in New York and later moved to Canada, becoming a media woman, tech ethicist and author. She won the Miss Canada title in 1989, becoming the first Black woman to win the title. Powell’s early career in media and entertainment merged with her work to shatter racial barriers and has now evolved into a technology and society advisory practice. She advises global companies and organizations, promoting the ethical use of technology.

Powell joined MusiquePlus in 1992 as a VJ and also became the host of ‘Bouge de là’, MusiquePlus’s weekly dance music show until 1996, when she moved to Toronto to host ‘Electric Circus’ and ‘French Kiss’. She founded the media and consulting company, Powell International Entertainment Inc. (PIE Inc.), which produced feature programs of personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, Sir Richard Branson, Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, and Prince Charles. She studied finance and business at McGill University and economics at the University of Toronto.

In 2001, she collaborated in writing the media section for the UN Plan of Action of the World Conference against racism. This led to her being appointed as an advisor to various international organizations such as the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and the World Bank, among others. Later, in 2011, she started as a consultant to the E-G8, a body created to advise G8 leaders on the future of the internet and connected society.

Powell gained notoriety with her 2009 book 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence and Run a Successful Business Using Social Networking. Her early publications on the business applications of social media were translated into several languages, including Chinese, Korean, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Powell provided live commentary on popular TV channels such as NBC, CNN, ABC, BBC, and BNN and wrote columns for Bloomberg. Her work raised various business and ethical issues related to social media, including privacy, cybersecurity, and bias. As a frequent keynote speaker and media collaborator, Powell examined the implications of big data. In 2016, she delivered a TED Talk on Unconscious Bias at the TEDx St Louis Women’s event titled “It’s About Time We Challenge Our Unconscious Biases.”