Derrick Holmes

FarmBox Foods is proud to welcome Derrick M. Holmes to the team as their Chief Diversity Officer. Derrick has a great passion for reviving and bringing to the forefront the works of African-American entrepreneurs and inventors. Derrick creatively integrates these works with modern flourishes and design. Derrick is the Founder and CEO of the Benjamin Banneker Watches and Clocks Company and has a history as a successful, multifaceted entrepreneur.

In the 1990s, Derrick's full-service advertising firm, Hollyrock Advertising Co., had major clients including Coors Brewing Company, TWA, and the NBA. In 1998, Derrick founded Marquee Watch Co. putting the signatures and likenesses of star athletes on the watch dial. In 2003, Derrick founded the Benjamin Banneker Watches and Clocks Company. Named after the renowned African-American scientist, inventor, and clockmaker, it is the only Black-owned clock company in the world. Derrick pays homage to Benjamin Banneker by integrating luxury woods into every watch and clock design. Banneker partnered with Jostens to produce the first-ever national sports championship watches. Derrick founded Esteem Enterprises that created the Banneker Jewelry Collection by Jostens designed for today's youth. In 2017, Derrick founded the C.R. Patterson Automotive Design Company, producing a stylish brand with top-engineering form and functionality. They address the basic needs of consumers and celebrate the first African American-owned automobile manufacturer. The brand takes inspiration from the ingenuity and resourcefulness of former slave turned blacksmith and carriage maker Charles Richard Patterson and his son and pioneering automobile entrepreneur, Frederick Douglass Patterson.

Derrick is a knowledgeable world historian and driven entrepreneur. He is a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and currently resides in Denver, Colorado.