Business
Black Enterprise releases report on African American representation On Corporate Boards
Ursula Burns – CEO and Chairperson of Xerox. PHOTO/Jemal Countess/Getty Images
(PRNewswire) – Late last week, Black Enterprise released its latest exclusive report on African American representation on the corporate boards of 250 of America’s largest publicly traded companies at BlackEnterprise.com. The media company identifies 177 African American directors at S&P 500 companies, including Starbucks, Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil and Ralph Lauren, on the Black Enterprise Registry of Corporate Directors. In addition, the report reveals 75 companies with no African American representation among their boards of directors.
The report highlights prominent African American directors including Ariel Investments L.L.C. President Mellody Hobson, who serves on the boards of The Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. and Starbucks Corp.; Darden Restaurants Chairman & CEO Clarence Otis, a director for Verizon Communications and VF Corporation; and Gilead Sciences SVP and Chief Financial Officer Robin L. Washington, among others.
The registry and report can be found at BlackEnterprise.com via the following link: http://www.BlackEnterprise.com/tag/black-corporate-directors/.
The report, “Directing America’s Largest Corporations,” is also featured as the cover story in the latest issue of Black Enterprise Magazine.
“Our report highlights the achievements of exemplary African American board members at our nation’s largest corporations,” says Black Enterprise CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.”
They are among the guardians of shareholder value who are ensuring the continued viability of American industry, including trillions of dollars in assets and millions of managers, employees, suppliers and other corporate stakeholders.”
“It should be equally alarming to us that in 2013, 30 percent of the 250 largest corporations do not currently have a single African American director despite the fact that many of these companies enjoy tremendous market share from African American consumers,” says Graves, who serves on the board of Memphis, Tennessee-based Auto Zone.
“It is our duty to challenge those corporations and ask them why. As corporate directors and shareholders of our nation’s largest companies, it is our collective responsibility to hold corporate America accountable and ensure that African Americans are never marginalized or overlooked.”
