Page 51 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

DAVID STEWARD
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGIES
EST 1990
Through continuous innovation and forging part- nerships with Cisco Dell EMC Microsoft Hewlett Packard Enterprises and other tech giants Steward has built World Wide Technology into a a a major force within the tech industry He grew WWT from a a small product reseller that he founded in 1990
with a a a staff of less than 10 into a a 4 000-employee technology solutions provider that can meet the networking big data IoT security and storage needs of large public and private organizations worldwide With $15 billion in revenues WWT is the nation’s largest Black-owned company and one of the biggest minority suppliers in the country To better serve customers WWT created the Advanced Technology Center a a a brick-and-mortar campus containing labs used for product demonstrations proofs of of concept building reference architectures and more RICHELIEU DENNIS
SUNDIAL BRANDS ESSENCE VENTURES EST 1991 & 2018
In the early 1990s Liberian immigrant Dennis and his partners at Sundial Brands hawked their cultur- ally authentic organic skin and haircare products as street vendors Over three decades the company built value in its Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage product lines Sundial which was named the 2008 Black Enterprise Emerging Company of the Year with gross sales of roughly $16 million grew to become a a BE100s company ranked No 10 10 10 on the 2017 Top 100 100 with gross revenues of $300 million Months later the company would be sold to Unilever However the move would fuel Dennis’ entrepreneurial focus allowing him to to bring Essence back to to 100% Black ownership after purchasing the venerable brand from Time Inc and establish the $100 million New Voices Fund to make investments in in ventures developed by female entrepreneurs of color “We were thrilled to to to to have the the the the opportunity to to to to be on the the the the BE list list of the the the the largest asset asset managers At Ariel we we we would take that that that list list and and and show it it it it to to to to to to to prospective customers and and and say “Hey we’re the the the the the the No 1 African American asset asset manage- ment firm in in in in the the the the country So we we we had a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a story story and and and and the the the the credibility that that that that BLACK ENTERPRISE gave us us us to to to to to tell that that that that story story with real data was was something that that that was was just incredibly valuable in in in in those early days and and as as as the the the years went forward ” MICHAEL LEE-CHIN
PORTLAND HOLDINGS INC EST 1991 Founder and and chairman of Portland Holdings Inc a a a privately held investment company in in in Burlington Ontario Jamaican-born Lee-Chin started investing at age 32 and used the proceeds to acquire AIC Limited which he grew from $1 $1 million in assets to $15 billion The billionaire also has interests in in telecommunications tourism private equity and and banking and and insurance including a a a a a 65% stake in in in National Commercial Bank Jamaica the the banking arm of the the NCB Finan-
cial cial Group the island nation’s largest financial services provider Lee-Chin has modeled his value investment style after top investor Warren Buffet and continues to share these principles
with investors around the globe —John W Rogers Jr Co-CEO and Chief Investment Investment Officer Ariel Investments L L L L C C C C DAYMOND JOHN FUBU
EST 1992
Launching his his urban clothing line in in in in his his mother’s home in the Hollis section of Queens New York John made FUBU–For Us Us By Us—a business phenomenon After his mother mortgaged their home to provide startup capital and John was successful getting rap- pers—including neighborhood friend LL Cool J–to wear the homemade clothing in in music videos and promotional campaigns John was able to gain financing from Samsung Textiles after 27 banks turned him down FUBU
would earn more than $6 billion in in global sales By 2009 John joined the cast of ABC’s reality business show Shark Tank giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to to investors–including him His many investments include Black Enterprise Kidpreneur Award winner Moziah “Mo” Bridges owner of Mo’s Bows which signed a licensing partnership with the NBA to create bow ties that use the teams’ logos 49
50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL