L. Londell McMillan, partner and co-head of the Media and Entertainment Global Industry Sector at the international law firm of Dewey and LeBoeuf, will be honored at the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation Gala Luncheon on Saturday, June 26 at the Lewis Estate in East Hampton, New York. Peter Offermann, Phyllis Schless and Robert C. Winters, Jr. will also be acknowledged, with each receiving a Millennium Member award recognizing the key roles they played in the life and career of Lewis. The event will feature performances by R&B singer Deborah Cox and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. WCBS-TV News Anchor Maurice DuBois will serve as emcee.
McMillan will receive the Reginald F. Lewis Award, which honors African American entrepreneurs who succeeded internationally in business before the age of 50, as Lewis did. The first African American billionaire, Lewis executed several landmark business acquisitions in the 1980s before acquiring Beatrice International Foods in a landmark $985 million leveraged buyout in 1987. Lewis went on to shatter all expectations and inspire future generations of African American entrepreneurs, establishing the first black-owned company with more than $1 billion in annual revenues and operations throughout Western Europe.
McMillan, who has represented such luminaries as the late Prince, Stevie Wonder, Usher, LL Cool J, Roberta Flack and Spike Lee, joins the likes of Sean “Diddy†Combs and real estate mogul R. Donahue Peebles, past recipients. He is also one of the co-owners and partners with real-estate developer Bruce Ratner and hip-hop icon Jay-Z in the New Jersey Nets and the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, future home to the NBA team. Additionally, McMillan is Group Publisher of The NorthStar Group, which publishes Jones Magazine and The Source.
(An earlier version of this post erroneously states that McMillan is an attorney for the family of Michael Jackson; that is incorrect. BlackEnterprise.com apologizes for the error.)
Following the Gala Luncheon is Beach Glamour, an ocean side benefit given by and for young professionals in their 20s and 30s. Tina Wells, the 30-year-old founder of Buzz Marketing Group, a $5 million business that she started at 16, will receive the group’s first RFL Young Entrepreneurial Award. The award is given to successful entrepreneurs under 40 who reflect the values, virtues, legacy and philanthropy of Reginald F. Lewis.
“The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation is pleased to recognize the hard work of Londell McMillan and Tina Wells and the wonderful contributions of Peter, Phyllis and Robert to the story and legacy of my husband,†said Loida Lewis, widow of the legendary mogul and foundation chair. “Perseverance and dedication, especially in entrepreneurship, normally pay off in individual success and community development, and help society in general. We are happy for their success and are grateful for their help of the Foundation.â€
Proceeds of both events will benefit the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture in Baltimore, the largest of its kind on the East Coast.
For more information about these events and the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, visit www.reginaldflewis.com.