Black Elites

Markets, capital and the companies redefining the global economy.

Deep reporting on the deals, firms and industries where the next chapter of wealth is being written.

In business

Inside Richard Parsons’ Turnaround of Time Warner Following the Failed $165 Billion AOL-Time Warner Merger

Richard Parsons took over a company struggling from one of corporate America’s worst mergers. By the end of 2002, AOL Time Warner reported what was then the largest annual corporate loss in U.S...

How Christopher J. Williams Built a Firm That Helped Underwrite Over $330 Billion in Corporate Offerings

Christopher J. Williams recognized an opportunity where others saw a closed market. In 2001, he founded The Williams Capital Group with a strategy focused on institutional transactions, with expertise...

Which US Grant Fits Your Black-Owned Business? A No-Guess Breakdown

Finding a grant is one thing. Finding the right grant is another. A restaurant owner looking for funds to buy kitchen equipment should not spend three days applying for a technology accelerator. A...

From a $280 Million Restructuring to a $43 Billion Investment Firm: Kenneth Chenault’s Leadership Journey

Few corporate leaders take control of a global company just months before a crisis threatens its business. Kenneth Chenault’s Leadership Journey can be traced to when he became CEO of American Express...

Charles Phillips Strategy: The Business Leader Who Built Billion-Dollar Success Twice

Few technology executives have helped create multibillion-dollar results at two of the enterprise software industry’s biggest companies. When Charles Phillips joined Oracle as co-president in 2003...

The Strategy Behind Arian Simone’s Multimillion-Dollar Venture Fund for Women of Color

Few venture capital firms were built to address one of the industry’s biggest funding gaps. By the late 2010s, Black women founders consistently received less than 1% of U.S. venture capital...

How Damola Adamolekun Is Using $60M And A Four-Pillar Plan To Rebuild Red Lobster 

For decades, Red Lobster was one of America’s most popular restaurant chains. By 2024, it faced significant challenges.  Falling sales, expensive leases, and years of poor strategic...

Why Monique Woodard Ignored Silicon Valley’s Favourite Investment Playbook

While most venture capitalists were chasing the next app for twenty-somethings, Monique Woodard was asking a different question: what happens when the fastest-growing market isn’t young at all?...

Thasunda Brown Duckett Biography: From Texas Roots to Fortune 100 CEO of TIAA

Thasunda Brown Duckett’s ascent to the top of TIAA is more than just a corporate success story. It highlights issues like money, access, retirement insecurity, and what happens when someone who grew...