{"id":2011,"date":"2023-02-08T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2022-12-14T14:19:54","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T19:19:54","slug":"5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/","title":{"rendered":"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The business world may have come a long way in terms of racial diversity and inclusion, but the playing field is still far from level. Responsible for one of the most recent comprehensive and independent studies into this issue, the Center for Talent Innovation reports that,\u202fwhile African Americans account for roughly 12 percent of the national population, they hold just 3.2 percent of senior leadership roles at large US\u202fcompanies\u202fand just 0.8 percent of\u202fFortune 500 CEO positions<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these statistics, certain sections of the business community are beginning to show signs of improvement. For example, the number of young black people with senior administrative aspirations has never been higher. As the Atlanta-area business school resource Metro MBA<\/a> points out, \u201cthe number of African Americans and other minorities graduating from MBA programs continues to rise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202fJust as important, the attitudes of some influential business\u202fleaders\u202fhave shifted in favor of equal representation in the boardrooms of America. Take for, example, Arch Systems CEO Andrew Scheuermann who honored Juneteenth 2020 by publishing a list of \u201c40 Inspirational Black Business\u202fLeaders\u202fto Follow on LinkedIn and Twitter<\/a>.\u201d Social network platforms have a profound impact on Mr. Scheuermann\u2019s thinking on a daily basis, so he made this list because he \u201cwanted to be hearing from more Black\u202fleaders\u202fon the same topics I care about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the benefits of varied perspectives and equal opportunity are obvious to CEOs such as Mr. Scheuermann, institutional inequalities remain a reality in the modern business environment. In light of this fact, it is worth celebrating every\u202fAfrican American\u202fwho decides to pursue an\u202fMBA\u202fas well as those who rise through the ranks to secure top\u202fCEO\u202fpositions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a short list of five black professionals who have leveraged their MBAs to accomplish amazing things in the business world:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Rosalind Brewer\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first name on our list of influential\u202fAfrican American\u202fbusiness\u202fleaders\u202fis also the most recent to assume her current position. The former chief operating officer of Starbucks, Rosalind Brewer became the\u202fCEO\u202fof Walgreens in March of 2021. Her new position not only makes her the only black woman to currently lead a\u202fFortune 500\u202ffirm, but just the third black woman to serve as a Fortune 500\u202fCEO\u202fin history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brewer formerly served as\u202fCEO\u202fof Sam\u2019s Club and president of the Global Nonwovens Sector at Kimberly-Clark. She embarked on her career as a scientist with this multinational manufacturer of medical instruments and sanitary products.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her amazing accomplishments, Brewer has not escaped negative stereotypes and ignorant assumptions. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a Black woman, you get mistaken a lot,\u201d she said while addressing her business school alma mater, Spelman College. \u201cYou get mistaken as someone who could actually not have that top job. Sometimes you\u2019re mistaken for kitchen help. Sometimes people assume you\u2019re in the wrong place, and all I can think in the back of my head is, \u2018No, you\u2019re in the wrong place.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Arnold W. Donald\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After serving a decade as a director at the British-American leisure cruse giant Carnival Corporation & plc., Arnold W. Donald became the company\u2019s\u202fCEO\u202fin 2013. In addition to his leadership role at Carnival, he concurrently serves as an executive advising partner at Wind Point Partners and an operating partner at Atlas Holdings LLC.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donald first made a name for himself at Monsanto where he introduced that company\u2019s first biotech crop protection products and ultimately became president of its nutrition and consumer areas. His other professional highlights include serving as\u202fCEO\u202fof Merisant and Tabletop Holdings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donald is also active in the charitable nonprofit sector, holding multiple management and board posts with a number of philanthropic and academic organizations over the course of his career. He formerly served tenures as\u202fCEO\u202fand president of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Cynthia \u201cCynt\u201d Marshall\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first\u202fAfrican American\u202ffemale\u202fCEO\u202fin the National Basketball Association, Cynthia \u201cCynt\u201d Marshall has led business operations for the Dallas Mavericks since 2018. She was working as a senior executive at AT&T when Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hired her to clean up the workplace culture of his NBA team in the wake of an investigation that uncovered two decades of sexual harassment and misconduct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall credits her positive impact on the Mavericks organization to \u201cdreaming big, having focus, prayer, and taking action.\u201d She places a high value on mentoring other black women in hopes that \u201cwe\u2019ll have a second, third, fourth and fifth\u201d\u202fAfrican American\u202ffemale\u202fCEO\u202fin the NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Aylwin B. Lewis\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aylwin B. Lewis leveraged his\u202fMBA\u202ffrom the University of Houston\u2019s Bauer College of Business to pursue an administrative career in the quick service restaurant industry. Over the years, he held a series of leadership positions at the Fortune 1000 fast food corporation YUM! This included senior posts with former and current YUM! affiliate brands such as Pizza Hut, KFC, Jack-in-the-Box, Long John Silvers, and A&W. His specific titles with YUM! include president, chief operating officer, and chief of multi branding. His other career highlights include tenures as president and\u202fCEO\u202fof both K-Mart and Sears Holding Co. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis currently serves as the\u202fCEO\u202fof Potbelly Sandwich Works LLC, a submarine sandwich chain with hundreds of locations that span the United States. He also serves as an independent director with The Walt Disney Company.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Mellody Hobson\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to her position as co-CEO\u202fand president of Ariel Investments, Mellody Hobson is the first black woman to chair the board of directors for Starbucks. She was born the youngest of six children and raised by a single mother in Chicago. Speaking at the Center for Financial Planning\u2019s Diversity Summit in November of 2020, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s no accident I am in the investment management business because as a child I was desperate to understand money.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hobson joined Ariel Investments as an intern after graduating from Princeton University in 1991. She worked her way up the chain of command to become a senior administrator. In addition to her work with Ariel and Starbucks, she sits on the board of directors of JPMorgan Chase. \u201cMy hope,\u201d she told an audience at her alma mater \u201cis that my name will remind future generations of students\u2014especially those who are black and brown and the \u2018firsts\u2019 in their families\u2014that they too belong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let These Amazing Business\u202fLeaders\u202fInspire You\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Countless professionals of all racial and cultural backgrounds have followed in the footsteps of these trailblazing MBA holders. Among their other philanthropic and community outreach endeavors, they serve as role models to the next generation of\u202fAfrican American business leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (UTC), we not only place a high value on diversity and inclusion, but we have both online and in-person\u202fMBA\u202fprogram options<\/a>\u202fthat are designed to prepare students from all walks of life who want to overcome challenges of the modern business climate and achieve success. For more information on our\u202fGary W. Rollins College of Business<\/a>,\u202fvisit the official\u202fUTC website<\/a>\u202ftoday.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The business world may have come a long way in terms of racial diversity and inclusion, but the playing field is still far from level. Responsible for one of the most recent comprehensive and independent studies into this issue, the Center for Talent Innovation reports that,\u202fwhile African Americans account for roughly 12 percent of the… <\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1913,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73105],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-master-of-business-administration","7":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0 - Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0 - Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The business world may have come a long way in terms of racial diversity and inclusion, but the playing field is still far from level. Responsible for one of the most recent comprehensive and independent studies into this issue, the Center for Talent Innovation reports that,\u202fwhile African Americans account for roughly 12 percent of the… Continue Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-08T14:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"College of Business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"College of Business\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/\",\"name\":\"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0 - Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-08T14:10:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/e6f2de7729f21da07b32b617d505b7f1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/\",\"name\":\"Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"description\":\"News and Information from UTC's Accredited & Ranked B-school\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/e6f2de7729f21da07b32b617d505b7f1\",\"name\":\"College of Business\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf362430a48cacf29f592b13178c0a6aeb6ab40e4ff8b2d5a3dd740639259fed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf362430a48cacf29f592b13178c0a6aeb6ab40e4ff8b2d5a3dd740639259fed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"College of Business\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/author\/vfj016\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0 - Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0 - Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","og_description":"The business world may have come a long way in terms of racial diversity and inclusion, but the playing field is still far from level. Responsible for one of the most recent comprehensive and independent studies into this issue, the Center for Talent Innovation reports that,\u202fwhile African Americans account for roughly 12 percent of the… Continue Reading","og_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/","og_site_name":"Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","article_published_time":"2023-02-08T14:10:00+00:00","author":"College of Business","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"College of Business","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/","name":"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0 - Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-02-08T14:10:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/e6f2de7729f21da07b32b617d505b7f1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/2023\/02\/08\/5-african-american-ceos-mbas-inspiring-others\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5\u202fAfrican American\u202fCEOs Who Possess MBAs and Inspire Others to Pursue the Same\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/","name":"Gary W. Rollins College of Business Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"News and Information from UTC's Accredited & Ranked B-school","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/e6f2de7729f21da07b32b617d505b7f1","name":"College of Business","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf362430a48cacf29f592b13178c0a6aeb6ab40e4ff8b2d5a3dd740639259fed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf362430a48cacf29f592b13178c0a6aeb6ab40e4ff8b2d5a3dd740639259fed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"College of Business"},"url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/author\/vfj016\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1913"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2015,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2011\/revisions\/2015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}