Black professionals in corporate business structures are notoriously cut out of senior-level positions and opportunities to move higher. For Fortune 500 companies, less than 1% of CEOs are black with only 3% of Black professionals holding executive and senior manager level roles. This awareness has elevated even more with the current protests over racial injustice and police brutality sparking new conversations about racism. One advertising executive wants to change that by creating a new platform with the mission of creating 1 million new Black millionaires.
Brian Lee is a seasoned executive that has worked behind the scenes on advertising campaigns from brands like Verizon, Microsoft, and numerous others. Coming from humble beginnings, his own struggles moving up the corporate ladder inspired him to create his own platform called Black Health and Wealth that helps guide Black professionals through corporate America and venturing into entrepreneurship. His goal is to create one million Black millionaires, creating a new Black Wall Street for our modern society.
According to We Buy Black, Lee plans to roll out his plan through a series of phases. Under phase one, Lee will be providing education and professional development to professionals within the network dedicated to helping them navigate through corporate settings in addition to resources for those looking to create their own company. In phase two, the company will introduce a Black business network to centralize all Black businesses to an easy-to-access network in addition to new initiatives to hold companies accountable for their diversity policies.
Lee hopes the current movement of uplifting Black businesses and the celebration of holidays like Juneteenth will inspire others in the community to become a part of the network to continue to help Black business owners and professionals thrive.