Black History Month | Innovator: Navarrow Wright
Navarrow Wright has emerged as one of the distinctive and insightful voices in America and a premier expert on how the convergence of technology, the Internet, mass media, and social media can change lives, businesses, and society. A change agent in the digital space for 30 years, he has used his unique combination of technical acumen, business sense, and understanding of how to address audiences to drive growth and create new business opportunities in every position he’s held. He’s focused on helping organizations develop and implement their digital strategy.
As Chief Operating & Technology Officer at Mirror Digital, Navarrow Wright is responsible for all operations, technical strategies, and implementations. Mirror Digital enables multicultural publishers and creators to monetize their audience through ad campaigns with leading brands and agencies. Mirror has been named to the Inc. 5000 list in 2025. Wright is the former Director of Product Marketing for the Facebook App @ Meta. He led all product marketing for Facebook’s public content creator strategy, focusing on building and launching a new ecosystem of programs to help creators monetize content and compete with TikTok and YouTube. Created the vision, oversaw product development, and led global product launches. Directed ~75 staff across four teams: Creator/ News Ecosystem, Facebook Partner Monetization, Distribution & Integrity, and Facebook Marketplace.
Navarrow is the founder/president of Maximum Leverage Solutions, a consulting firm that works with startups, businesses, and brands in the areas of technology and product strategy. Working with clients such as Soledad O’Brien, Anthony Anderson, Iyanla Vanzant, Erica Campbell, Charles Jenkins, Fred Hammond, Israel Houghton, and companies like Google. Wright has served as CTO of Radio One’s online division, Interactive One, CTO of Black Entertainment Television, and as co-founder of GlobalGrind.com with Russell Simmons. Wright raised funds for the venture from Accel Partners, the leading investor in Facebook. GlobalGrind was acquired by Radio One in December 2014.
Wright launched the “Close the Divide project” (facebook.com/closethedivide). Wright’s vision for the initiative is to build awareness among underserved communities (minorities and women) about technology’s opportunities in key areas such as education, healthcare, career growth, and entrepreneurship. He travels the country, speaking to various groups about the importance of closing the digital divide and the opportunities for economic parity available through technology entrepreneurship. But he wanted to do more, so he created something that would allow him to reach as many people as possible, put a face to this issue, and Close The Divide.
With more than 30 years of experience in the technology and media industry, Wright has established himself as someone who can conceptualize and develop advanced technology solutions for leading global organizations. Wright’s unique understanding of the Internet space and ability to marry those technical advances with consumer demand have made him one of the premier technology experts in the Internet and media.
Navarrow Wright has appeared on Run’s House, Gotti’s Way, and the Steve Harvey radio show. He was named by Network Journal Magazine as one of its “40 Under Forty” professionals to watch in 2009 and selected by the Innovation Generation as one of the nation’s top 100 GenerationNEXT and Information Technology leaders. He participated in the CNN Black in America series, which aired on November 13th, 2011, and focused on blacks in technology. Black Enterprise Magazine also picked him for their “Next
Steve Jobs List: The Ten People to Watch in Technology” in 2012. He has been invited to the White House on several occasions to discuss how policy changes can help with technology adoption and is considered an expert on the convergence of technology and media. Wright was selected for Verizon Innovators’ “Celebrate Our Stories” campaign, which features influential African Americans sharing their keys to success, celebrating their achievements, and offering tips for a better tomorrow.
Wright is a sought-after public speaker who has spoken at major conferences such as SXSW & TEDx and has been interviewed by media outlets such as NPR & TechCrunch. Wright also blogs for several publications, including the Huffington Post, and is a LinkedIn influencer. You can follow him on Instagram @navarrow and watch his podcast on YouTube @ YouTube.com/@NavarrowWright. Connect with him at his website navarrowwright.com