Black Enterprise Publishes Exclusive Registry of African Americans on Corporate Boards

Black Enterprise Publishes Exclusive Registry of African Americans on Corporate Boards

NEW YORK - Black Enterprise (BE) has released its latest exclusive report on African American representation on the corporate boards of 500 of America’s largest publicly traded companies at Black Enterprise.com. The media company identifies 292 African American directors at S&P 500 companies, including Starbucks, Walmart, ExxonMobil and FedEx Corp., on the Black Enterprise Registry of Corporate Directors. In addition, the report reveals 197 companies with no African American representation among their boards of directors.

Black Enterprise’s report spotlights prominent African American directors including Ariel Investments L.L.C. Chairman and CEO John Rogers, who serves on the boards of McDonald’s and Exelon and James Bell, retired EVP, Corporate President, and CFO of Boeing, who serves on the board of JPMorgan Chase, Dow Chemical, and Apple.

“I’m here to challenge all black board members with the specific responsibility to voice issues of concern that affect African Americans across the board,” says Black Enterprise

Chairman and Publisher Earl Graves Sr. “African Americans on boards 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.”

The registry is drawn from the S&P 500 based on market capitalization as of April 28th, 2017. Black Enterprise compiled the listing by reviewing proxy statements and annual reports, as well as contacting investor relations departments, corporate governance experts, and organizations such as the Black Corporate Directors Conference and Executive Leadership Council (ELC); the latter is a network of the nation’s most highly ranked African American corporate executives.

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