Once discriminated against and provided with absolutely no opportunities, there are now countless African American leaders who happen to be some of the biggest name in business.
We’ve thankfully reached an area where diversity is rife in business and as you’ll see from this list, some of the results from African American leaders is bordering on the unbelievable.
Here, we’ll take a look at five individuals who have taken their industries by storm.
Kenneth Chenault
The first man on our list is Kenneth Chenault; the man who has been the CEO of American Express since 2001.
It means that he’s been through some real highs during his tenure and the fact he has lasted so long, in such a cut-throat industry, highlights his status as one of the best business leaders in the world.
Over his fifteen years in charge the company have grown phenomenally and they now make revenues in upwards of $33.8 billion.
Don Thompson
We’re going to bet that every visitor to this page has heard, and probably visited McDonald’s, but there’s every chance you won’t have heard of its CEO.
He comes in the form of Don Thompson and has held the position since 2012.
His story is certainly impressive and after starting out as an electric engineer with the company (where he designed various mechanisms to make cooking more efficient), he made the incredible journey to CEO where he has been lauded for his results thus far.
Charles Phillips
Charles Phillips is the next man on our list and having held major roles at Morgan Stanley and Oracle, it’s safe to say that he’s dealt with the very best and has a sterling reputation.
Now he finds himself at another technology company and Phillips’ affairs as CEO of Infor have caused yet more talking points for all of the right reasons. He’s transformed the company into one of the biggest in the business software industry, and over the next few years they are expected to take even more of a market share from the likes of SAP and Oracle.
Ursula Burns
While this article might be concentrating on African American business success stories, let’s also now introduce someone who became one of the most renowned female leaders.
Ursula Burns became the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company after taking over at Xerox in 2012. Since arriving, she’s been behind some remarkable progress and also happens to serve as chairman.
Let’s be honest, most people don’t think as Oprah as a business leader but in simple terms – she really is.
She might be well-known for her role on the small screen, but away from that and she sits as CEO at her own company, the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Suffice to say, she’s used her television profile to a huge advantage and considering the fact that she’s worth in excess of $3.2 billion – there’s absolutely no doubting her inclusion on our list.