Cynt Marshall’s story, from being the first black cheerleader at Berkeley to becoming the first black female CEO in the NBA, is truly inspirational. The world has witnessed her work at the Dallas Mavericks, but her journey wasn’t easy. She faced countless obstacles on her way to the top. She took charge of Luka Doncic and Co. in 2018 and has been super impactful. Marshall was hired for the top job at the Mavs after an investigation was opened against the org revealing sexual harassment and workplace misconduct for over 20 years.

Following this news, Mark Cuban, the majority stakeholder of the Mavericks at the time, panicked and looked for a leader to solve the crisis and change the Organisation’s structure. An associate of his recommended Cynt Marshall’s name, and the rest is history. After her historic and successful tenure, the founder of Marshalling Resources will be retiring.

News coming in from NBA Insider, Marc J. Spears, says, “Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, will retire on Dec. 31. She will remain as a consultant for the organization through Dec. 2025. Mark Cuban made Marshall the first Black woman to lead an NBA team in March 2018. The Mavs are under new ownership with the Adelson family.”

She has transformed the toxic workplace culture that the Dallas Mavericks once had into a worker-friendly organization. In Mark Cuban’s words, “Bringing Cynt to the Mavericks 6 years ago was one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made!”

From launching a new TV partnership that allows approximately 10 million Texans to watch Mavs games for free, to overseeing $30 million worth upgrades in the American Airlines Center, the former Governor of the franchise is just full of praise for her.

Cynt Marshall’s life and inspirational work before and after joining the Dallas Mavericks

Cynt Marshall’s early life was full of struggles as she grew up in public housing projects in Richmond, California. She and her family couldn’t make ends meet, and to add to her problems, she had an abusive father. While protecting her mother, Carolyn, who was a high school executive administrator, Marshall wasn’t going to give up on life so easily. She was determined, focusing on what was important to her. Her work ethic and hard work finally paid off when she got into the University of California, Berkeley, that too, with a full scholarship.

She started breaking barriers at Berkeley by becoming the first African-American cheerleader. Finishing her graduation, she got her first job at AT&T, and she worked her way up the ladder and ultimately reached top positions in the company. Finally, after spending 36 years at AT&T she was looking for a new challenge and retired from the company to start her firm.

Then in 2018, Mark Cuban reached out and put a challenging project in front of her, which she could not deny. She said, “I want to make sure I do a good job, be a good role model, and show that it shouldn’t be unusual for a Black woman to be in a job like this. We are capable,” and she did just that at the Mavericks.

She set out to make big changes within the organization and with such huge allegations being investigated, changing a few of the staff was a must. She made a detailed 100-day plan that outlined 200 initiatives. Some of those included installing a confidential hotline and employee surveys to report concerns, hiring compliance officers to look into pressing matters promptly, and launching the ‘Women of Mavs Empowering Network’ to help staff female employees with career development and networking opportunities.

Cynt Marshall served as a huge example for not just women, but the Dallas Mavericks as a whole. The franchise’s governor, Patrick Dumont, called her “a force of nature.” She never gave up and kept working throughout her career and has been inspirational to many African-American women.