About Dee Poku Spalding

Dee Poku-Spalding is an entrepreneur and women’s advocate born in the UK and raised between London and Accra. 

She is the founder and CEO of The WIE Suite, a private membership community and peer learning platform for women in leadership. Its mission is to redefine the way women leaders achieve success for themselves and for their companies by providing the community and tools for them to succeed at the highest levels. The WIE Suite also works with companies to accelerate growth by helping them attract, retain and grow talent.

Back in 2010 Dee also co-founded The WIE Network, pioneering one of the early modern women’s conferences, in response to the lack of diversity at traditional business forums. And her initiative Black Women Raise works to accelerate the ability of leading black female founders to raise growth capital, scale up and create pathways for the women behind them.

An innate community builder, Dee has attracted numerous business and cultural leaders to her platform over the years, from Queen Rania and Nancy Pelosi to Mellody Hobson and Julie Wainwright (The Real Real).

Dee’s background includes senior marketing roles at Paramount Pictures and Focus Features (a division of Universal Pictures), working with the likes of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Blunt and Taraji P Henson. She has marketed numerous award-winning films including Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’; the Coen brothers’ ‘No Country For Old Men’; Sofia Coppola’s 'Lost in Translation', Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Babel’ & ’21 Grams’ and Ang Lee’s 'Brokeback Mountain'.

 Dee began her career in brand marketing and communications and over the years has worked with renowned brands such as Coca Cola, Absolut Vodka, Crème de la Mer, Stella Artois and London Fashion Week.

 Dee has been named one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 50 women changing the world, a CUP Catalyst Changemaker, a Harlem Fashion Week Cultural Icon, one of TRUE Africa’s 100 Top Innovators and won a Gold Anthem Award from the Webbys. She is a frequent speaker on women’s workplace advancement, and culture and community building, and has shared her insights at the UN, the New York Times New Rules Summit, Forbes 30 Under 30, the Women’s March summit, the Black Girls Rock Summit, Girlboss Rally, The Female Quotient, SHE Summit, Makers, CUP Women’s Leadership Forum; Stern and Georgetown University’s Women’s Summits and BAFTA amongst others.

Dee serves on the Board of Directors of the British Academy of Film & Television (BAFTA) and the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy and was previously on the Credit Suisse New Markets Women’s Advisory Board. She is also an advisor to Girl Gaze, Paint Box, The Female Founders Collective and The Wonder and serves as a contributor to Forbes.

Dee holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Math. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

BOARDS/ADVISORY ROLES

WRITING

CAMPAIGNS

BOOK APPEARANCES

RECOGNITION

Inspiration on Instagram

Just me manifesting my dreams at @Time 100. My big takeaway. Leadership in our current climate requires an insane level of nuance, empathy, communication skill and insight. Which of course women have in abundance (so hire us!). Thanks for the wisdom
“The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I create it.” — James Baldwin