The BET 100 Entertainers & Innovators of the Year | Business Execs And Entrepreneurs

See who superseded our expectations.

BET 100 | Business Executives And Entrepreneurs - The brilliance of Blackness knows no boundaries. It shines through in boardrooms, tech hubs, startup incubators and academia despite a world that is often hostile toward us. So determined and strong are we, even a global pandemic couldn’t keep us from building business empires, fighting corporate injustice or creating must-have products. Here are execs and entrepreneurs that are not only at the top of their game, they are changing the game and inspiring generations to come. —Written by Jarod Hector Plus, don't forget to check back each day this week to find out who else we've added to the BET 100 list...we're just getting started. (BET Digital Design/Getty)
Erika James - On July 1, Erika James became the first woman and first Black person to serve as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Though breaking through glass ceilings isn’t anything new for her. In 2014, she was named dean at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, becoming the first Black woman to lead a top business school program in the nation. James told CNBC, “My hope is that we start to normalize this experience and one day we won’t have to start stories with ‘What does it feel like to be the first’ because people just become so accustomed to it.” (Photo courtesy of LinkedIn)
Jon Platt - As Chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jon Platt is the highest-ranking Black executive in music. In October, he was named to the prestigious Berklee College of Music’s Board of Trustees. In response to the killing of George Floyd, Platt wrote a call to action for his colleagues in Variety: “Music companies have rushed to pledge solidarity with the Black community since the atrocity committed against Mr. Floyd. But I often remind my team of a fact that might seem odd for a music man to point out: People see better than they hear. Timely action must follow the industry’s lyrics. Otherwise, words are ultimately empty.” (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)Michael Seibel - Michael Seibel is CEO and Partner of Y Combinator, which provides seed funding to startups. The Silicon Valley venture has launched over 2,000 companies, including Stripe, Airbnb, Cruise Automation, DoorDash, Coinbase, Instacart, Dropbox and Reddit. Seibel also co-founded Socialcam and Justin.tv (later known as Twitch.tv) and both were sold for a combined $1.1B dollars. In June, he was named to Reddit’s board of directors, replacing co-founder Alexis Ohanian (Serena William’s husband) and becoming the company’s first Black board member. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

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BET 100 | Business Executives And Entrepreneurs - The brilliance of Blackness knows no boundaries. It shines through in boardrooms, tech hubs, startup incubators and academia despite a world that is often hostile toward us. So determined and strong are we, even a global pandemic couldn’t keep us from building business empires, fighting corporate injustice or creating must-have products. Here are execs and entrepreneurs that are not only at the top of their game, they are changing the game and inspiring generations to come. —Written by Jarod Hector Plus, don't forget to check back each day this week to find out who else we've added to the BET 100 list...we're just getting started. (BET Digital Design/Getty)

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