Jemi Crookes Isn’t Building Louder Leaders—She’s Crafting Ones We Can’t Forget

The loudest voice in the room rarely moves mountains. The clearest one does.

I meet plenty of executives who believe that visibility means turning up the volume—speaking louder, networking harder, and chasing every spotlight. Yet, the leaders who truly shift industries aren't remembered for how often they're seen. They're remembered for why they matter.

When I first sat down with Jemi Crookes, founder of The ThinkFluencer Lab, it was clear she understood that difference instinctively. Jemi isn’t here to help women simply become more visible—she’s here to architect how they’re remembered. And she does it brilliantly.

Jemi’s story isn’t typical, which explains why her strategies aren’t either. Born to first-generation Gambian-American parents, she absorbed early the value of strategic presence. “My parents didn’t shout to be heard,” Jemi shared during our conversation. “They built quietly, deliberately. That’s influence.” From her academic roots in psychology and sociology at Bryn Mawr to mastering strategic analytics in Georgia, Jemi has always seen leadership as fundamentally human. Her early career at Affinnova—and later Mintel—took her from Boston boardrooms to scaling operations across Asia. After Nielsen acquired Affinnova, it was Jemi who orchestrated the complex dance of integration. Her secret? "Clarity, consistency, and making people feel safe to follow you—even through uncertainty."

In New York, advising consumer giants at Mintel, she translated consumer data into billion-dollar strategies. But she was doing something deeper, something many miss: turning insights into influence. By the time Russell Reynolds Associates invited her in, she was ready to transform how leaders understood their own potential. Her Global Leadership Monitor became a staple for CEOs and boards worldwide. Suddenly, Jemi wasn’t just advising leaders—she was shaping how leadership itself was understood, discussed, and developed.

Now, with her own venture, The ThinkFluencer Lab, Jemi’s building something new again—leveraging AI to architect executive brands, particularly for women who've achieved success but feel the persistent, exhausting pressure to always be louder, bolder, and more visible.

As we spoke, Jemi laid out how she helps these women shift their strategy from volume to resonance:

First, clarify why you’re unforgettable:

“Visibility isn’t fame,” she said. “It’s strategic memory. You don’t need everyone to remember you—you need the right people to never forget.” She helps leaders pinpoint the precise value that sets them apart and build systems to consistently communicate it.

Second, automate your presence, not your authenticity:

Her method is strategic and precise: using AI to scale genuine interactions and ensure the right messages land exactly where and when they're needed. "It's not about flooding feeds. It's about showing up memorably—at the moments that matter."

Third, know when to architect silence:

Jemi’s most surprising insight? “The most impactful leaders understand when to pause. Silence amplifies your words. Great leaders shape the conversation—they don’t have to dominate it.” Her advice isn’t just theory. It’s born from seeing thousands of executives navigate complexity, crisis, and change.

Finally, design your downtime intentionally:

 She believes deeply that influence isn’t just built at work—it’s also built in how you recharge. "The way we rest," Jemi told me, "deepens the strength we bring back into the world." For Jemi, ocean swims in Australia aren’t just hobbies—they're strategic retreats that sharpen her insights and deepen her clarity.

Last words

I ended our conversation convinced of one thing: Jemi’s approach to leadership is exactly what women navigating ambition, life, and the relentless pace of today’s world need. It’s about doing less, intentionally. It’s about clarity over noise, resonance over reach.

She smiled when I asked about her own visibility. “The goal isn’t fame,” she reminded me. “It’s to be remembered for making something better.”

The loudest voices may grab attention. But leaders like Jemi Crookes? They hold it.