*Patti LaBelle, Yolanda Adams and Hill Harper are among the keynote speakers lined up for Black Enterprise’s 2017 Entrepreneurs Summit hosted by Nationwide, to be held Wednesday, May 17 through Saturday, May 20, at the Marriott Marquis in Houston, Texas.
An annual highlight of the Summit is the presentation of the nation’s top awards for African American business achievement and community involvement. The Black Enterprise A.G. Gaston Award will be presented to MLB Hall Of Famer, Entrepreneur and humanitarian, Hank Aaron; and Corporate Champion Award to civil rights leader and attorney, Vernon Jordan, at the BE 100s Gala on Friday, May 19th. This awards recognizes the outstanding achievement of individuals who has had broad and positive impact on his or her industry as well as the community at large, while serving as a champion of entrepreneurship and business growth, employment opportunities, and wealth creation for African Americans.
Sessions offered during the event include “Business Coaching: Crafting Your Game Plan,” “BE Talk: Innovation and Funding,” “Fundraising from Startup to Scale Up in the Tech Space,” “Spotting Trends and Opportunities in Tech,” and “Seizing Opportunities in Franchising,”just to name a few.
Confirmed speakers include:
Patti LaBelle, Founder, Patti Pies
Yolanda Adams, Owner, Yolanda Adams Coffee
Sylvester Turner, Mayor of Houston
Vernon Jordan, Attorney, Civil Rights Leader, Business Consultant
Charles Koch, Chairman & CEO, Koch Industries
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., President & CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Hank Aaron, MLB Hall of Famer, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Hill Harper, Author, Entrepreneur and Actor
Clyde Drexler, NBA Hall of Famer, Drexler Holdings L.L.C.
Kase Lawal, Chariman, CAMAC International Corp.; Vice Chariman, Unity National Bank
Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Windsor Village United Methodist Church
Brandon Andrews, Senior Consultant, Values Partnership; Casting, Shark Tank and Steve Harvey’s Funderdome
Bonin Bough, Host, Cleveland Hustles, CNBC
Charles King, Founder & CEO, MACRO
Lisa Ascolese, Founder, Inventing A to Z
Tye Caldwell, Co-Founder, ShearShare
Courtney Caldwell, Co-Founder, ShearShare
Donna Sims Wilson, President, Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors, L.P.
Hahna Alexander, CEO, SolePower L.L.C.
Jason Few, Investor, Energy Projects
Sulaiman “Su” Sanni, Co-Founder & CEO, WeDidIt
Teri Williams, President & COO, OneUnited Bank
John Scroggins, President & CEO, Unity National Bank
Melinda Emerson, Author, Host, #SmallBizChat
Zakiya Larry, Author, Founder and CEO, Quest Media Training
Lamar Tyler, CEO, Tyler New Media; Creator BlackandMarriedWithKids.com
Gilbert Campbell, Co-Founder & CEO, Volt Energy
Ramon Ray, Entrepreneur, Author, CEO, Smart Hustle Magazine
Michael Elliot, Founder & CEO, Hammer and Nails Salon Group
Stephen Hightower, CEO, Hightowers Petroleum
Jonathan Sprinkles, Connection Coach, Author of Presentation Power
For the aspiring entrepreneur, Equity Date with an Angel offers practical advice on how to raise funding for your business. Plus, the Black Enterprise Elevator Pitch Competition will award $10,000 for the best new business idea. The ABC Shark Tank Diversity Tour will also be holding an open casting call to identify entrepreneurs ready to pitch their ideas for an investment on the hit business reality show.
For updates, follow Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit page on Facebook and search the #BESummit hashtag on Twitter.
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