Wall Street Legends: 10 Black Leaders in Finance
Black Wall Street ain’t dead, investment companies just scared – shoutout to rapper and real estate investor Jeezy. A century after the Tulsa Massacre, Black finance experts are still running up the bag for some of the top investment firms in the country and when their presence isn’t celebrated, Black investors are starting their own firms. Check out how these 10 Black leaders are infusing racial equality in the stock market below:
Early in her career, Thasunda Brown Duckett, new president and CEO of TIAA and founder of the Otis and Rosie Brown Foundation, directed the strategic diversity plan to increase homeownership for Black and Brown households at Fannie Mae. Now, Brown is a Wall Street boss lady leading a company that specializes in financial inclusion and opportunity.
Carla Harris, senior client advisor and vice chairwoman of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, has a passion for bridging the racial and gender wealth gap. She uses her platform to support Black entrepreneurs through the company’s Multicultural Innovation Lab – an initiative that supports women- and minority-led startups. In 2014, our forever president, Barack Obama, co-signed Harris to chair the National Women’s Business Council, making government funds rain on women’s businesses.
First things, first, rest in peace Reginald Lewis – Black Wall Street legend and Baltimore native. He founded one of the first Black-owned law firms on Wall Street, Lewis and Clarkson, that focused on helping drive business for minority-owned companies. In 1983, he also established TLC Group to further extend that mission.
John W. Rogers Jr., founder, co-CEO and CIO for Ariel Investments, has over three decades of wealth building and management experience. When he steps into corporate boardrooms, he makes it known that his top priority is to raise awareness on the financial inequities burdening people of color. For the sake of Black communities, Rogers He holds his colleagues accountable to uphold the three P’s —purchasing, personnel, and philanthropy.
As president and CEO of Siebert Williams Shank & Co. L.L.C., Suzanne Shank is a veteran in the money game, with 30 years of financial experience. She’s won numerous awards throughout her career, including the Shot Caller award presented at BET’s 2017, “Black Girls Rock!” She also founded internship program, Detroit Summer Finance Institute, that connects BIPOC students to financial careers.
Tina Byles Williams founded Xponance – a multi-strategy investment firm, formerly known as FIS Group – nearly 30 years ago. Now, she champions her company’s charitable initiative, A Good Measure Foundation, which partners with programs to empower impoverished women and children, and engages inner-city youth in financial literacy.
Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments L.L.C, co-founded a private investment firm, Ariel Alternatives and launched Project Black last February. The initiative prioritizes investing in Black and Brown-owned businesses, positioning them as suppliers of choice to Fortune 500 companies. Hobson has been an advocate and advisor for closing the racial wealth gap since foreva-eva and continues to use her influence in the finance industry. There, she uplifts BIPOC communities by promoting equity in traditional labor jobs such as construction and manufacturing.
Roger Ferguson, an investment mogul, stepped down as CEO of TIAA in March 2021 with an investment network from roughly $435 billion to $1.2 trillion in assets for the firm. A longtime advocate against the racial and economic divide in our country, Ferguson was among several candidates that President Joe Biden considered for Treasury secretary. Ultimately, the Biden administration chose Janet Yellen. (So much for that Black agenda).
Founder and CEO of digital investment firm Stackwell, Trevor Rozier-Byrd launched the company to reframe the conversation around Black wealth by building equity and ownership in the Black community. Stackwell’s purpose is to provide financial inclusion by targeting underinvestment in Black businesses and empowering Black investors.
JoAnn Price, co-founder and managing partner of Fairview Capital Partners Inc. – the largest Black-owned private equity firm – has pioneered raising capital for minority businesses for over 30 years. When she was president of the National Association of Investment Cos., she raised millions in capital for Black entrepreneurs.
