After 32 years at Black Entertainment Television (BET), former CEO Debra Lee continues shaping culture and business. Today, she sits on the boards of Warner Bros. Discovery, Marriott International, and Procter & Gamble — but her legacy at BET remains untouched. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2025, Lee reflected on how her leadership from 2005 to 2018 helped define generations of Black entertainment, from shaping beloved programming to setting new standards for representation. Lee began at BET as the company’s first in-house counsel, building the legal department from the ground up. She later — and unexpectedly — became president and chief operating officer, succeeding founder Bob Johnson. “When people started writing articles, ‘Debra Lee is the heir apparent,’ it really shocked me,” Lee recalled. “I thought I was just going to continue to do the work, and Bob would get all the credit. That’s the way it went. No big deal. And it wasn’t until Bob left and I became CEO that people started...

Black women are facing increasing economic challenges today. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs or have exited the workforce. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, along with Trump’s tariffs, has contributed to these losses. Times are hard, and many are being stretched to make ends meet. Adding to these challenges, the stalling of SNAP benefits under the government shutdown is impacting millions of Americans. In addition, homelessness is at an all-time high , according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s most recent 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. The study cites that homelessness rose by 18% since 2023, meaning roughly 118,000 more people experienced homelessness in 2024 compared with 2023. For some, like 22-year-old Imani, the instability of today’s landscape has made it increasingly difficult to secure employment and...

Olivier Rousteing has parted ways with fashion house Balmain. The designer entered the fashion industry with determination and risk. According to an interview with Vogue, at 18, he left the fashion school after six months. This decision was also not understood by his parents, who had already been perplexed by his pursuit of fashion. “I fought because I had no school or background behind me, just determination and desire,” he told the outlet in a November 2021 interview. That decision paved the way for a historic appointment at Balmain at age 24 as its creative director in April 2011. Before this, he had worked under his predecessor, Christophe Decarnin, for two years, notes Vogue. According to a separate Vogue article, he was the “youngest non-founding designer to lead a major Paris house” since Yves Saint Laurent’s appointment at Dior at age 21. That’s not all. Rousteing was the first Black individual to become a creative director at a major European house, the Business of Fashion...

Jason Mayden’s parents invested in him early on, helping him realize his dreams at Jordan Brand. Self-Belief Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, he believed his imagination was better than his reality after spending time in and out of the hospital. He also observed that he was different from his peers as a neurodivergent individual and often felt overlooked. In an interview held during the 2025 AFROTECH™ Conference, he revealed that he gave himself permission to dream. This became his superpower. “In that imaginative state, I was able to give myself permission to dream and to eventually decide that who I am is enough,” he said. “I rejoice and relish in the fact that people underestimated me and I thank them for that because it forced me to realize that I have to be the progenitor of my own outcomes and, I’m the protagonist in my own narrative. I couldn’t choose my origin story, but I can write my ending,” he continued. Investment From His Parents When Mayden was 10 years old,...

Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye has turned a new leaf. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, N’Diaye-Mbaye announced the closing of her beauty brand Ami Colé in July, which was on Sephora shelves across North America. Rather than being able to focus on moves that would have positioned the company for longevity, she admitted to allocating time to appraising investors who were not all consistent in their support of inclusivity. “Instead of focusing on the healthy, sustainable future of the company and meeting the needs of our loyal fan base, I rode a temperamental wave of appraising investors — some of whom seemed to have an attitude toward equity and ‘betting big on inclusivity’ that changed its tune, to my ears, from what it sounded like in 2020,” she told The Cut. Joining SKIMS N’Diaye-Mbaye said her belief in beauty hasn’t changed and that she was optimistic about what’s ahead. It appears her journey has led her to SKIMS, the shapewear brand founded by Kim Kardashian alongside Emma Grede and...

Generosity isn’t just about being nice — it’s the key to earning the trust of a Fortune 100 CEO. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 in Houston, TX, Juan Bonilla, president of marketing agency Walton Isaacson, and Ayiko Broyard, executive vice president and head of account management, unpacked the power of strategic generosity as a growth strategy that strengthens relationships, unlocks bigger budgets, and leaves chief marketing officers (CMOs) feeling supported, empowered, and recognized. Broyard shared how this philosophy shaped Walton Isaacson’s long-standing partnership with Lexus. Early on, she noticed how luxury buyers valued the brand’s respect and hospitality — something missing from competitors. To truly understand that experience, she and her team visited dealerships, sat in the cars, and immersed themselves in the customer journey. That firsthand insight became a cornerstone of the agency’s experiential strategy: every event must feature a vehicle people can touch, sit in, and...

Stacey Abrams wears many hats. The first Black woman nominated for governor in U.S. history, she is a national leader, voting rights advocate, romance and thriller novelist, and serial entrepreneur with her own media and podcast ventures. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 in Houston, Abrams joined Dr. Rachel Gillum, vice president of ethical and humane use of technology at Salesforce, for a session titled “Democracy in the World of AI,” highlighting AI’s rapid spread, its impact on every sector from health care to the economy, and its connection to democracy. Abrams explained that her commitment to democracy is driven by her experience with poverty, which she called immoral, economically inefficient, and solvable — a reality she is determined never to return to. “Democracy is how we have always advanced the cause of more voices being involved in the answer,” Abrams shared from the stage. “I create companies because I was poor, and I don’t like it, and don’t ever want to do it again. My...

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) has opened the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, its first new academic facility in nearly 50 years, named in honor of outgoing president Dr. Joyce F. Brown, according to a press release from the institute. FIT is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). The 10-story, 100,000-square-foot building, located in New York City, features 26 energy-efficient classrooms and studios, collaborative student spaces, and the Knitting Lab, which is now the largest campus knitting and weaving facility in the country, per the release. Students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 23, 2025, ELLE reports, recognizing Dr. Brown’s 27 years of leadership since she assumed the role in 1998. Among her milestones, she is also FIT’s first Black president and first woman president, as previously reported by AFROTECH. Throughout her tenure, she has focused on expanding educational access and creating...

SKIMS co-founder Emma Grede has lent her expertise to a wellness venture launched by Hoda Kotb. Leaving ‘Today’ Kotb, a Virginia Tech University graduate with a degree in broadcast journalism, had been a host on the “Today” show since 2007, ultimately becoming co-anchor. She left many in shock when she departed the show on Jan. 10 after turning 60, according to NPR reports. She shared that the decision resulted from reaching a peak on television and wanting to have more time for her family. Joy 101 Kotb has now turned to entrepreneurship, serving as the founder and CEO of Joy 101, a wellness company that offers intimate retreats and happiness hours with live conversations held on Zoom between Kotb, guests, and experts, according to its website. The company also launched an app with a daily joy plan backed by research tools and led by experts, with courses that center on various topics such as self-love and acceptance, mental health, reclaiming joy, and calming anxiety. PC: Joy 101...

Every entrepreneur has a defining moment. For Canadian businessman and investor Kevin O’Leary, it occurred in the 11th grade. O’Leary, nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful,” shared with AFROTECH™ that he was fired from an ice cream shop after working only a few hours as a scooper. The shop’s owner instructed him to scrape the tile floors, which he refused to do since it was not in his job description. “She said, ‘You do whatever I want. I mean, you’re my employee.’ And she said, ‘You’re fired.’ And I said, ‘That sucks.’ I never worked for anybody again. That was it. So I owe her a lot,” O’Leary told AFROTECH™ during the Clover x Shark Tank Summit held in September Las Vegas. He later added, “That’s when I realized… there are two types of people in the world. There are people that own the store, and there are the people that scrape the sh-t off the floor. Which one do you want? I’m not saying being an employee is bad. It’s just not for me. I can’t do it.” O’Leary went back to find that manager...

Daymond John says his mother is the ultimate entrepreneur. Lessons From His Mother The entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” investor hails from the Hollis neighborhood of Queens, NY, where he was raised by his mother, Margot. When John was 10, she became a single parent and did everything she could to ensure his success. ABC Network reports that his mother worked part-time as a flight attendant and in other jobs to keep them afloat. “I always say that first of all, a mother is the ultimate entrepreneur, but an African-American mother who was a single mother is the ultimate entrepreneur,” John said during an interview with AFROTECH™ held during the Clover x Shark Tank Summit Sept. 28-30, in Las Vegas. “She’s gonna figure that sh-t out. And so Mom figured out how to. She always had common sense,” John continued. He also shed light on the advice he received from her about everything from buying meat from the better part of town down to the simplicity of listening to your gut. “She told me to...

Derrick Hayes, the founder and CEO of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, has spent the last decade building a multimillion-dollar restaurant chain. Along the way, some advice he received from Tyler Perry stayed with him, he told Fortune. Hayes, a Philadelphia native, opened his first Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks in a Shell gas station in Georgia in 2014, the outlet reports. Since then, the chain has grown to 12 locations across the U.S., including two Atlanta locations that brought in between $1.1 million and $1.8 million in net sales in 2024, per Fortune. Every 58 seconds, a cheesesteak is sold at one of Hayes’ restaurants, with prices ranging from $11.99 for a classic sandwich to $46.99 for specialty options, the outlet notes. On Hayes’ 38th birthday, he joined a roundtable discussion with Perry, gospel musician Kirk Franklin, and rapper Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins. During the conversation, Perry shared advice that resonated deeply with Hayes, Fortune reports. “Tyler Perry said something to me I’ll...

Business and branding strategist Maya Elious offers a unique perspective on the intention of launching a business. Elious founded Built To Impact, a coaching company based in the Atlanta metropolitan area that launched in 2014. Built To Impact assists women coaches, consultants, and service-based entrepreneurs who are scaling businesses to profitability in the six figures and beyond, according to information shared on her LinkedIn. Elious noted her business has attracted many faith-based women. On the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas, Elious shared her take on the narrative keeping entrepreneurs from reaching new heights in their wealth-building journey. “Some of the things that hold us back is this fear of being greedy. This fear of seeming like, ‘Oh, I’m only doing it for money’… Starting a business for money is also noble,” she said. “Knowing how to put food on the table is a noble thing. You don’t need to have this deep, purposeful,...

Black women continue to face the highest unemployment rates in the United States, with joblessness rising to 6.7% in August. August’s figures follow several months of elevated unemployment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Black women have lost over 300,000 jobs since February — including 266,000 in March alone, a 2.5% drop and the sharpest monthly decline since mid-2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A July report showed that Black women faced nearly 6% unemployment, marking three straight month of high rates. The rate climbed from 5.1% in March to 6.1% in April, peaked at 6.2% in May, and dipped slightly to 5.8% in June. The trend is so alarming that Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) urged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to take action, calling for a detailed plan to address rising unemployment among Black women and uphold the Fed’s mandate to maximize employment for all, AFROTECH™ noted. “Black women are more likely...

Michael Simoni always knew he would be a doctor. The Haitian-Italian from South Florida, raised by a single mother, knew his strengths were science and math, he told AFROTECH™. In high school, he received a push from a high school biology teacher to become a tutor, which further solidified his interest in STEM. These topics informed his career pursuit, which he initially envisioned in the fields of psychiatry or brain surgery. Simoni attended Dartmouth College and earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience in 2008, his LinkedIn states . He spent a couple of years working at a hospital in a neurosurgery lab before enrolling at Harvard Medical School. However, Simoni admitted, in conversation with AFROTECH™, that by his third year, he was not content. “It was just so sad in the hospital all the time. And I was not ready for that…I was a first-generation college student…No one in my family was a doctor. Nobody could tell me what to expect,” Simoni explained. Despite the challenges,...