Yes, Bozoma Saint John offers business advice to her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costar.
“[It’s] completely unsolicited advice,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting her upcoming appearance on On Brand With Jimmy Fallon.
She told Us that she’s had business conversations with costar Erika Jayne, whom Saint John “advised” about her brand. Sutton Stracke has also been working alongside Saint John.
“She’s trying to take fashion that has been discarded and repurpose it,” Saint John, 48, explained. “A lot of places, like Ghana, fashion brands will dump or send pieces that they don’t want anymore, and create huge landfill issues. She and I have been talking a lot about how to address that issue.”
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While Saint John has stepped away from the boardroom for Bravo, putting her business suit back on was a no-brainer for NBC’s upcoming competition show.
“I actually cried real tears,” she told Us about getting the opportunity to meld her C-Suite past and reality TV present to be the chief marketing officer on the series. “It just felt like my destiny was meeting me where I’m supposed to be.”
Prior to her role as a Bravolebrity, Saint John ruled the corporate world with high-profile roles at Netflix and Uber, among other notable companies. She utilized her business background for the new show, which finds contestants creating brand campaigns in hopes of winning a $100,000 prize.
Saint John told Us that it was a “dream come true” to be a part of the show.
It just felt like my destiny was meeting me where I’m supposed to be,” she continued. “Everything that I’ve done in the last 25 years is marrying where I am, in my life right now. Bringing those two things together, it was great.”
Saint John actually has RHOBH to thank for her On Brand role.
“If I had listened to everybody who told me not to go on, Housewives, I would not be sitting in this seat now,” she said. “Jimmy [saw] my ability to be fast and witty and sharp. He said, ‘Oh, wow, her personality comes across on screen.’ And, obviously, I have the marketing chops, so that didn’t need proof.”
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But Saint John thinks that she needed to be “seen in a different way” to get this TV opportunity.
“Every time somebody wants to ask me about the moves I’ve made or why I trust my intuition. Look at that proof. Look at the receipts,” she continued. “It’s undeniable in my life. That’s why I feel so confident going into this moment, because it just feels like, ‘Yes, that’s where I’m supposed to go.’ If there’s any doubt or any questions, I’ve already trusted my intuition a bunch of times, and it’s proved right.”
Working alongside host Jimmy Fallon was also a high point of Saint John’s experience on the show.
“If I could just talk about Jimmy all day, I really would,” she gushed. “He’s such a fantastic human being. We all know, he’s a genius at what he does, at being creative, at being funny, at getting people to tell their stories.”
Saint John praised Fallon, 51, for being “great as a marketer,” which was, admittedly, a surprise to her.
“We went to dinner, and now we’re fast friends. We text all the time,” she said. “After my engagement [to Keely Watson], I got a note from [Jimmy with] this hot package. He puts in parentheses, ‘Keep it spicy.’ That man sent me some [Nigerian] pepper soup. The first time we went to dinner, I took him to a Nigerian restaurant. The man almost died eating the pepper soup. The fact that he’d gift me that — his thoughtfulness and level of creativity run through everything about him.”
On Brand With Jimmy Fallon premieres via NBC on Tuesday, September 10 at 10 p.m. ET.
