Ballerific Woman: Ashaunna Ayars, From Creating the Iconic Snowman Logo to Being the Branding Mastermind Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Music Superstars

In a perfect world, men and women would receive equal pay. African American women would be presented the same opportunities as their white counterparts. Rejection would be based on qualifications rather than race.

Unfortunately, this world is far from perfect, however, there are people, more specifically women, who have dedicated their time, money and education to make a positive change. They’ve used their experiences and their encounters with injustices to fight and/or create more opportunities for their children and their children’s children, in an effort to make the world a better place. They’ve put our pain and problems on their backs and created space for change, new opportunities for our brothers and sisters to excel and succeed in a world that is designed against us. This is #BlackExcellence. These are Ballerific Women.

One of those special individuals is Ashaunna Ayars, the branding mastermind behind Hollywood’s biggest music stars and brands.

The Queens-bred ballerific woman was introduced to the music industry through an internship at Atlantic Records, where she formed long-lasting relationships that would eventually assist in launching her successful career in the business.

By the age of 19, Ayars secured a position alongside Lance “Un” Rivera, just before she was promoted to Manager of A&R Administration-which then opened the doors for the opportunity to oversee A&R duties for the Wu-Tang Clan.

Through a long road of hard work and sheer perseverance, Ayars then joined the Island Def Jam Music Group family, making her way up the ladder of success to Senior Vice President of Marketing, reporting to music mogul L.A. Reid and Jay-Z.

While there, she developed and launched the careers of Hollywood’s biggest stars, from Ne-Yo, Fabulous and Young Jeezy, the artist that pushed one of her most notable campaigns – The Snowman.

Ayars then went on to reach even bigger success, joining other labels, before branching off to create her own agency to cater to the needs of artists. With over a decade of experience leading award-winning campaigns, brands and artists, Ayars created the The Ayars Agency to be a full service talent management and marketing firm used to develop and execute brand strategies, working for the likes of Oscar-Award winning rapper Common, Oscar-nominated singer/actress, Mary J. Blige, The Dream, Starbucks, Def Jam and Capitol records.

Ayars’ handwork and dedication to her passion makes her a force to be reckoned with and a Ballerific Woman!