Yinka Majekodunmi was beginning the journey of a lifetime.
At 16, accompanied only by his teenaged sister, he found himself on a plane from Africa, bound for Miami and what his family believed would be opportunities for a future to be explored.
“We had no parents and no money,” he recalls with a chuckle, adding that he recently found the diary he kept all those years ago.
But, with the support of an uncle and Miami community resources, Majekodunmi began an educational and professional path that eventually led him to success in the financial industry. Today he serves as the Miami-Dade County Commission’s auditor and the founder of YM Worldwide, LLC, a business consulting firm. Majekodunmi is also among Legacy Magazine’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Business Leaders of 2026.
Majekodunmi calls Legacy Miami’s recognition an unexpected, but welcomed, reward.
“Most of us don’t really think about recognition when we’re out here trying to do the work,” he said. “The word I’ll use is grateful because we’re most often thinking about just getting the work done.”
Having begun his focus on finance at Florida International University, Majekodunmi and his sister benefited from attending Miami Job Corps Center.
“That program helped us to kind of quarterback how we would integrate into American society,” he recalls, adding that his surroundings didn’t resemble the America he “saw on TV.”
Many peers he encountered were high school dropouts or participants in court-ordered diversion programs, but he rose above distractions, eventually becoming a certified public accountant.
By advising the County Commission, which creates policies for about 3 million people, Majekodunmi says he impacts others who need support he once received.
“When we look through finances and we’re able to identify other funding sources, meaning additional money,” he says, “and we can use it for housing resources, meals for the elderly, or a summer youth program, that, for us, is satisfaction.”
Others included in the 2026 class of Legacy Miami’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Business Leaders are Kaplan North America’s Vice President and Assistant General Counsel Nefertari Rigsby; Florida City Mayor Charlotte Thompson; Miami Beach’s Director of Development Steven Anthony; restaurant franchise founder Kevin Kelley; and Travel and Leisure’s Area Vice President Candice Gholston.
“It’s always powerful to be recognized,” Gholston said, adding that it’s especially significant among “people who look like me.”
Although she never aspired to corporate leadership, Gholston moved from sales representation in 2015 to management four years later, continuing through the ranks.
“It was really important for me to be a leader and not a boss,” she adds. “It’s easy to be a boss, to micro-manage people, take all the credit, but the hard part, to me, is inspiring people to work at their highest level.”
A motivator that changed Gholston’s enthusiasm, she says, was using leadership to help others advance.
Kelley, who earned his position among Legacy Miami’s honorees by operating the Kitchen + Kocktails chain, shares Gholston’s perspective.
“The most fulfilling aspect of my leadership is serving as a CEO who creates opportunities for individuals who may not otherwise have access to them,” Kelley said. “I firmly believe there is a wealth of untapped talent that simply needs the chance to perform and demonstrate excellence in hospitality.
“Through Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley, I’m able to serve as a guiding force, opening doors and providing opportunities for those who look like me to thrive in an industry where those chances are not always given.”
Anthony says public service in Miami Beach also presents opportunities to create inclusion.
“What I find most fulfilling is the ability to turn vision into impact by bringing people together around shared goals,” he shared. “In economic development, nothing meaningful happens in silos. The work requires trust, collaboration, and a genuine belief that communities thrive when everyone has a seat at the table.”
“I’m at my best when I’m helping people connect the dots,” he added, “aligning public priorities with private-sector innovation, translating complex ideas into clear pathways, and creating environments where entrepreneurs, investors, residents, and civic leaders feel empowered to contribute. That blend of rigor, creativity, and relationship-building is where I feel most aligned with my purpose.”
