Page 46 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

44
JANICE BRYANT HOWROYD
ACT-1 GROUP
EST 1978
Launched in in 1978
with a a a a a a a a $1 500 family loan and a a a a a a a a small office in in Beverly Hills Act-1 Group has grown into the only business to to generate roughly $3 billion in in in revenues that is owned and operated by an an an African American woman A A proponent of global enterprise and information technology Bryant Howroyd has provided staffing and HR solutions to some of the world’s largest corporations ffin in more than 19 countries while serving as as as a a a a a a a a mentor to to a a a a a a a a number of of of Black entrepreneurs One of of of the areas of of of growth has been its brand AllSTEM Connections Inc a a a a a a diversity certified staffing agency that provides leading STEM STEM talent to clients COMER COTTRELL
PRO-LINE CORP EST 1979
With a a a mere $600 the late Cottrell launched Pro-Line Corp which would become one of the the nation’s largest Black haircare manufacturers He gained the the idea of of developing a a a a a a a a a a line of of African American haircare products from a a a a a a a co-worker while working at Sears He quit his job and and began working with chemists and and researching the market Eventually he he he persuaded beauty and barbershops to use his products as as well as as significantly boosted sales through military bases overseas Cottrell’s success positioned him to break new ground in in business like acquiring an an an equity stake in in in the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball franchise in in in 1989 and using it it as as a a a a a a a vehicle to increase minority involvement in in in in in professional sports In the area of philanthropy he he invested more than $3 million to keep the Dallas-based HBCU Paul Quinn College from shutting its doors In 2000 he he sold the company to to Alberto Culver for $80 million ROBERT L JOHNSON
BET THE RLJ COMPANIES
EST 1980 & 2001
For 40 years Johnson has repeatedly made business history First he he launched Black Entertainment Television–better known as as BET–as the first Black-owned cable television network in in 1980 Within a a a a a little more than a a a a a a a a decade he he he took it public in 1991–the first time a a a a a a a a Black-owned company was traded on the the New York Stock Exchange After taking the company private again he he sold BET to to Viacom for $3 2 billion in a a a a a a a a a a a a transaction that made him America’s first first Black Black billionaire He shattered other barriers as the the first first Black Black majority owner of an an an NBA franchise in in 2003 He also took two other companies public: RLJ Lodging Trust a a a a a a $3 billion hotel real estate investment trust listed on on the Big Board since 2011 and RLJ Entertainment listed on NASDAQ in 2012 and sold six years later to AMC Networks for which he now serves as chair- man Two of of his his firms–RML Automotive and RLJ Equity Partners–both part of of his his expansive conglomerate The RLJ Companies can be found among the the BE100s lists of the the nation’s largest Black-owned businesses CATHY HUGHES
URBAN ONE INC EST 1980 Cathy Hughes started her multimedia empire with the purchase of one Washington D
C station in 1980 Through a a a a a series of acquisitions she would expand her company Radio One into the owner and operator of more than 70 radio stations targeted to to to African African American American listeners By 1999 she became the first African African American American woman to head a a a a a a a a publicly traded company when it was listed on NASDAQ By 2004 an an an alliance with Comcast resulted in the launch of TV One L L L L C C which would eventually become the the nation’s largest Black-owned cable television network By 2017 the the consolidation of its broadcast and digital properties among other entities resulted in the the formation of Urban One the largest Black-owned media conglomerate 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
ADVANCING BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP