‘RHOA’: Everything We Know About Kandi Burruss’ General Manager, DonJuan Clark
One thing fans will always say about The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss’ team is that they ride for their boss. The most famous face of the bunch is DonJuan Clark. Aside from him working as Burruss’ general manager of her business affairs, he’s gone head-to-head with some of her co-stars to protect her good name, and fans haven’t always been kind to him on social media. But Clark is more than just what he does for Burruss. He had a successful career before meeting and working with her full-time and also had business dealings outside of her.
DonJuan Clark is the general manager of Kandi Burruss’ business affairs
Fans have watched Clark since he began appearing on RHOA in Burruss’ debut season of the show in Season 2. He currently works as the general manager of Burruss’ business affairs, which is expansive. But before landing the gig with the woman deemed the most business-savvy Housewife by Bravo honcho Andy Cohen, Clark worked as a sixth-grade teacher, fast-food sandwich shop manager, and a bank employee, among other gigs. He says all of this helped prepare him for his current role.
He met Burruss when he was 18 and doing online marking in the social media space. They began friendly and kept in touch, with him helping her on certain projects. When she wanted to open office space for her entertainment company and recording studio, The Kandi Factory, she asked him to join her. His role grew from there.
“I’ve had a lot of these different jobs that I think have given me a lot of qualities that I’ve taken into the Kandi empire, and then Kandi and Todd [Tucker] opened the restaurant empire. [I’ve] been able to use a lot of those skills outside of that. My degree is in organizational communications, [and] most people don’t know I started out wanting to go into HR stuff when I graduated from [the University of North Carolina]. I kind of used all of those things… I’ve had a lot of jobs all my life… all of them have been really great experiences, and I’ve learned from them and moved on to something else,” he explained. “Me and Kandi have worked together for over a decade or so, and I have kind of put all of those in one wheelhouse and kinda made myself this anomaly.”
How Don Juan Clark takes in viewer feedback
Fans’ reactions to Clark have been mixed. Some appreciate his loyalty to Burruss, while others have accused him of interjecting himself into drama and stirring up mess. Either way, he doesn’t pay much attention to the critics.
He took on a more prominent role in Burruss’ spinoff Kandi & the Gang, which followed the daily operations of her Atlanta soul food eatery. From that experience, Clark told Bravo that he felt viewers were able to see an expanded version of who he is.
“I’ve been on Housewives for all these years, I think in this supporting role and kinda just around. I think people have their own [idea of], you know, ‘Oh, gosh, this is who he is. This is what he does.’ But I think being on Kandi & The Gang has allowed some opportunity for them to see a little bit more. They see a little more of the day-to-day and [go], ‘Oh, OK, well, he handles the business, but he’s also this guy that has a very strong connection to a lot of the employees,’ and that’s just kinda how I lead,” he explained. “So I think that part has been really good and people have seemed to be really receptive. Whereas I think [on] Housewives, sometimes people are like, ‘I can give or take him. I love him, but then I hate him,’ you know? A love-hate relationship is what I feel like the fans [have] had [with me].”
He also has work ventures outside of working with Kandi Burruss
Clark manages all of Burruss’ businesses, including her retail and cosmetics empire, her adult toy line, her restaurants, music, and beyond. But he says he has his own thing on the side, nothing he provides business solutions and payroll administration for different establishments in Atlanta.
