You’ve seen the photos on LinkedIn. Thousands of Black women in power suits, beaming under the chandeliers of a Las Vegas ballroom, clutching awards and networking like their lives depend on it. It looks like a giant party. Honestly, if you just scroll through the feed, you might think the Women of Power Summit 2025 was just a high-end retreat at the Bellagio.
You’d be wrong.
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Beneath the "Girls’ Night Out" themes and the gala dresses, something much more clinical and tactical was happening between March 5th and March 9th. This wasn't just a "feel good" event. It was a war room. With corporate diversity initiatives under fire across the country and DEI budgets being slashed like it’s 2008 all over again, the vibe in Vegas this year was less "celebration" and more "fortification."
Why the Women of Power Summit 2025 felt different
The 20th anniversary of this Black Enterprise flagship event landed at a weird time in American business.
Basically, the "momentum" theme—Momentum: Our Future, Our Promise, Our Power!—wasn't just a catchy slogan. It was a directive. We’re seeing a massive shift where Black women executives are moving from "just happy to be at the table" to "we are building our own table and the room it sits in."
The numbers tell a story that the glossy brochures don’t always lead with. We aren't just talking about a few VPs. We’re talking about the women who manage billions. Glenda McNeal, the Chief Partner Officer at American Express, was one of the Legacy Award honorees this year. When she speaks, people don't just listen because she’s a "woman of power." They listen because she’s one of the primary architects of how modern corporate partnerships actually function.
The Legacy Awards: More than just a trophy
Usually, these galas are a bit of a slog. You know the drill: long speeches, cold chicken, and polite applause.
But this year’s Legacy Awards Gala on March 5th had a different weight. Honoring Valerie Jarrett, former Senior Advisor to President Obama, felt like a bridge between the political and corporate worlds that is becoming increasingly necessary.
The lineup was stacked:
- Valerie Jarrett: President of the Barack Obama Foundation.
- Glenda McNeal: American Express powerhouse.
- Robin L. Washington: Board member for Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Salesforce, and Honeywell.
- Melba Moore: The legendary singer who provided the cultural soul of the evening.
Seeing Robin Washington and Glenda McNeal on that stage together is a reminder that the "Summit" is actually a massive concentration of capital and influence. Washington, as the incoming President and COO of Salesforce, is effectively one of the most powerful people in tech, period.
The stuff nobody talks about: AI and Work Trauma
If you weren't in the rooms for the breakout sessions, you missed the real meat.
There was a heavy focus on two things that seem like opposites but are actually deeply linked: Artificial Intelligence and "Work Trauma."
Kinda wild, right?
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But it makes sense. The summit tackled the "AI Advantage" head-on. The consensus? If you aren't using generative AI to automate the administrative junk in your life, you're falling behind. But the flip side is the mental toll of being "the only" in the room for twenty years. Sessions on overcoming work trauma weren't just about "self-care" (a word that has honestly lost all meaning). They were about the psychological cost of navigating corporate structures that weren't built for you.
Tunde Oyeneyin and the "Morning Motivation"
You probably know Tunde from Peloton. She’s everywhere.
She kicked off Friday, March 7th, with a session that focused on "momentum." It’s easy to dismiss motivational speaking as fluff, but in a room full of women who are often the primary breadwinners, the community pillars, and the corporate fixers, that morning session felt like a necessary recharge.
Renau Daniels, the VP of Multimedia at Black Enterprise, noted that the summit is designed to be an "immersive experience." It’s not just a series of lectures. It’s a four-day ecosystem.
The "Luminary" shift
One of the coolest parts of the 2025 event was the Luminary Luncheon. This is where they honor the "rising" stars. This year, the spotlight was on people like Jemele Hill and Minda Harts.
Minda Harts, specifically, has become a bit of a cult figure in this space because of her book The Memo. She talks about the stuff HR won't tell you. Having her as a "Luminary" honoree shows that Black Enterprise is leaning into the "real talk" aspect of career coaching.
Then you had Monique Rodriguez, the founder of Mielle Organics. Her story is basically the blueprint for modern Black entrepreneurship—building a brand from the ground up and navigating a massive exit/partnership while keeping the core audience intact.
The hard truths about the Bellagio sessions
Let’s be real for a second. These summits are expensive. Between the registration fees, the flights to Vegas, and the $20 sandwiches at the hotel, it’s a big investment.
Is it worth it?
If you go there looking for a job, probably not. But if you go there to build a "protective moat" of peers, then yes. The "Conversations That Count" sessions featured people like Edith Cooper (who sits on the boards of Amazon and PepsiCo). Listening to her talk about peak performance isn't like watching a YouTube video. It’s about the nuances of how she handles a board meeting when she’s the only person who looks like her.
Those are the "hidden" lessons of the Women of Power Summit 2025.
What we can learn from the 2025 Summit
Even if you weren't in Las Vegas this March, the takeaways from the 20th anniversary are pretty clear for anyone trying to navigate a high-level career right now.
- Networking is a defensive strategy. In an era of layoffs, your "network" isn't just for finding new jobs; it's a support system that keeps you sane when the corporate weather gets rough.
- AI is non-negotiable. The summit made it clear: Black women cannot afford to be late adopters of tech. Whether it's data analytics or generative AI, these tools are the Great Equalizers.
- Health is a line item. You can’t lead a billion-dollar division from a hospital bed. The "wellness" coaching at the summit wasn't an afterthought; it was treated as a business necessity.
- Legacy isn't about the end; it's about the middle. The Legacy honorees this year aren't retired. They are still in the thick of it. The message was that you start building your legacy by how you mentor people now, not when you're 70.
Your next steps for 2026
If you missed out this year, the 2026 Summit is already being discussed as the "next evolution."
- Audit your current network: Do you have "sponsors" or just "friends"? The summit experts suggest you need three people who will mention your name in rooms you aren't in.
- Master one AI tool this month: Don't just "try" ChatGPT. Use it to build a workflow for your department or your personal brand.
- Set a "Wellness" Budget: Not for a spa day, but for the actual tools (therapy, coaching, fitness) that keep your brain sharp.
- Follow the 2025 Honorees: Watch what Robin Washington and Glenda McNeal do next. Their moves in the next 12 months will likely signal where the broader market is heading.
The Women of Power Summit 2025 proved that the era of "just working hard" is over. It’s the era of working smart, staying connected, and refusing to let your momentum stall out.