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Black Honchos in the Corner Office  - Across the country, minority entrepreneurs and business leaders continue to head companies and make their mark in corporate America. In fact, between 2002 and 2007, the number of Black-owned businesses in the United States increased by 61 percent to 1.9 million — a growth rate more than triple the 18-percent growth rate for all businesses. In honor of Black History Month, BET.com pays tribute to some of the most powerful players on the scene today. –Danielle Wright

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Paula Boggs: Starbucks Corporation - Paula Boggs serves as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at Starbucks Corporation. She heads the company’s law & corporate affairs department, advising a wide range of Starbucks partners on legal and business issues.(Photo: Kevin P. Casey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Kenneth Chenault: American Express - Kenneth Irvine Chenault has been the CEO and Chairman of American Express since 2001. He received B.A. in history from Bowdoin College in 1973, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Christopher Gardner: Christopher Gardner International Holdings - Christopher Gardner is founder and CEO of Christopher Gardner International Holdings. In 2006, actor Will Smith brought Gardner’s story of homelessness while raising a toddler son to life in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, based on Gardner’s bestselling memoir.(Photo: Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

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Michelle Coleman Mayes: AllState - Michelle Coleman Mayes is executive vice president and general counsel at Allstate Insurance Company. Mayes joined Allstate in 2007. From 1976 through 1982, she served in the United States Department of Justice as assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit and Brooklyn.(Photo: AllState)

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Tyler Perry: Tyler Perry Studios - Tyler Perry serves as president and founder of Tyler Perry Studios. His films have grossed over $400 million worldwide as of July 2009. Perry’s story is an excellent example of overcoming adversity. Perry went from being molested in a broken home to a successful multimillionaire.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Cleve L. Killingsworth: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts - Cleve Killingsworth served as the president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. from July 2005 until March 2010. He is currently a faculty member of the Harvard School of Public Health and serves on the Harvard Medical Board of Fellows.(Photo: Blue Cross Blue Shield)

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Berry Gordy Jr.: Motown - Berry Gordy Jr. is an American record producer and founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries. He is responsible for the founding of the Jackson 5, the Supremes, the Four Tops, the Commodores and more hit groups. (Photo:  Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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Earl Graves, Sr.: Black Enterprise  - Earl G. Graves Sr. is the founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine. Graves started his first business while a student at Morgan State University, cutting deals with two local florists during Homecoming Week.(Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

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Pamela Culpepper: PepsiCo - Pamela Culpepper serves as senior vice president and global diversity and inclusion officer for PepsiCo Inc. PepsiCo owns the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines, each of which generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales for the company. (Photo: PepsiCo)

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Gary E. McCullough: Sherwin-Williams Company  - Gary E. McCullough serves as director of retail for The Sherwin-Williams Company, a company engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of coatings and related products. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Wright State University and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.(Photo: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Farrah Gray: Farrah Gray Publishing - Farrah Gray, at age 14, became the first child in the United States to become a self-made millionaire. At the age of 6, Gray created his own blend of body lotion and made $9. Twenty years later, Gray is a millionaire businessman and CEO of Farrah Gray Publishing, a best-selling author and syndicated columnist.(Photo: Farrah Gray Publishing)

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Robert L. Dixon: PepsiCo  - Robert L. Dixon serves as senior vice president and global chief information officer of PepsiCo Inc. Dixon spent 30 years in a variety of senior positions in manufacturing, brand management and information technology with Procter & Gamble (P&G).(Photo: PepsiCo)

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Willie A. Deese: Merck Manufacturing  - Willie A. Deese serves as executive vice president and president of Merck Manufacturing Division, a global, research-driven pharmaceutical company. Deese earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at North Carolina A&T State University in 1977, and his MBA at Western New England College in 1983.(Photo: Merck Manufacturing)

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Ronald “Slim” Williams: Cash Money Records - Ronald Williams is the co-founder of Cash Money Records, along with his brother, Bryan “Birdman” Williams. Williams is also known as "The Godfather" for his behind-the-scenes role at Cash Money Records.(Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)

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Bryan “Birdman” Williams: Cash Money Records  - Bryan “Birdman” Williams is the co-founder of Cash Money Records, along with his brother, Ronald “Slim” Williams.(Photo: Prince Williams/FilmMagic)

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Tyra Banks: Bankable Enterprises - Internationally known model, media personality and actress Tyra Banks serves as president and chief creative officer of Bankable Enterprises. Banks is also the creator and host of the reality television show America's Next Top Model.(Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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Russell Simmons: Def Jam Recordings - Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons co-founded Def Jam Recordings with producer Rick Rubin in 1984. Since its founding he has started several companies, including Phat Farm and Argyleculture. (Photo: Joe Corrigan/Getty Images)

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Rosalind G. Brewer: Sam’s Club - Rosalind G. Brewer serves as president and CEO of Sam’s Club. Brewer was most recently president of the Wal-Mart U.S. east business unit, where she was responsible for more than $100 billion in annual revenue, representing almost 1,600 stores and more than 500,000 associates.(Photo: Sam's Club)

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Earvin "Magic" Johnson: Magic Johnson Enterprises - Earvin "Magic" Johnson serves as founder and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises. Contracting HIV forced Johnson to retire from the NBA prematurely, eventually transforming him into a public advocate for the disease. His business portfolio includes four AMC movie theaters, 116 Starbucks, 31 Burger King franchises, and 13 24-Hour Fitness facilities.(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

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Lloyd D. Ward: CleanTech Solutions - Lloyd D. Ward serves as chairman and CEO of CleanTech Solutions Worldwide, LLC — a “green” manufacturing enterprise that applies thermal conversion technology to extract the original ingredients from waste materials.(Photo: REUTERS/Scott Olson SJO)

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George Foreman: George Forman Grill  - Former heavyweight champion George Foreman began promoting the George Foreman Grill in 1994. Over 100 million units have sold since the product's launch.(Photo: Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

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Denis Dillip: Canaco - Denis Dillip serves as chief geologist and president of Canaco Tanzania Limited, a mineral exploration company in Tanzania. (Photo: Canaco Tanzania Limited)

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Sean “P.Diddy” Combs: Bad Boy Worldwide - Sean “P.Diddy” Combs is the founder and CEO of Bad Boy Worldwide and Sean John Clothing. Combs was born in Harlem and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.(Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter: RocNation - Jay-Z serves as CEO of RocNation, a record label, management, music publishing and entertainment company. He has sold approximately 50 million albums worldwide.(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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John H. Johnson: Ebony Magazine - John H. Johnson served as founder and publisher of Ebony magazine. Before passing away in 2005, Johnson became the first African-American to appear on the Forbes 400.(Photo: Johnson Publishing Company)

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Sheila Johnson: BET Networks  - Along with her then-husband Robert Johnson, Sheila Johnson helped launch BET in 1980. After the Johnsons sold the network to Viacom in 1999, Sheila would become the first African-American woman to be an owner or partner in three sports franchises: the Washington Mystics, Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.(Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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Ulysses L. Bridgeman: Bridgeman Foods - Ulysses L. Bridgeman serves as president and CEO of Bridgeman Foods Inc., Manna Inc., ERJ Inc., and B F Ft Myers Inc. B.F. Companies operates a number of Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburger restaurants and Chili’s restaurants. Bridgeman is also a director of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc.(Photo: Bridgeman Foods)

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Oprah Winfrey: Harpo Productions  - In 1986 Oprah Winfrey founded Harpo Productions and established herself as an on-air talent. The production company was responsible for Beloved and The Great Debaters and was home to The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ended after 25 seasons on Sept. 9, 2011. (Photo:  Michelly Rall/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Michelly Rall/Getty Images

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Desiree Rogers: Johnson Publishing  - Desiree Rogers serves as CEO of Johnson Publishing Company. She is the Obama administration’s former White House Social Secretary. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

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Jermaine Dupri: So So Def  - Jermaine Dupri is president of So So Def/Island Records Urban Music. He formed the teen duo Kris Kross, Xscape and has worked with Destiny’s Child, Bow Wow, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne and a host of other artists. (Photo: Kristian Dowling/PictureGroup)

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Cathy Hughes: Radio One - Cathy Hughes founded Radio One in 1979 with her then-husband, Dewey Hughes. Twenty-five years later, Radio One and Hughes launched TV One, a national cable network that targets African-American adults.(Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Photo By Michael Buckner/Getty Images

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Antonio “L.A.” Reid: LaFace Records  - L.A. Reid is former chairman of The Island Def Jam Group. He is best known as the co-founder of LaFace Records, responsible for signing and creating multi-record deals for Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Pink and more. (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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Iman Abdulmajid: Iman Cosmetics - Iman Abdulmajid is founder and CEO of Iman Cosmetics. Focusing on difficult-to-find shades for ethnic women, after two decades of modeling, in 1994, Iman started the cosmetics company.(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

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John W. Rogers - John W. Rogers is the founder, chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments, the nation’s largest minority-run mutual fund. Rogers’ passion for investing started when he was 12 years old, when his father — a Chicago judge and former Tuskegee Airman — bought him stocks every birthday and every Christmas instead of toys. His interest grew while majoring in economics at Princeton University.  (Photo: Ariel Investments)

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Frank Clark: Commonwealth Edison - Frank Clark is the chairman and chief executive officer of ComEd (Commonwealth Edison), a unit of Chicago-based Exelon (electricity) Corporation. He also serves on the ComEd board of directors, the board of directors for Waste Management, Inc., Harris Financial Corp. and Aetna Inc. He received his bachelor’s and law degrees from DePaul University.(Photo: ComEd)

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Weldon H. Latham: Jackson Lewis LLP - Weldon H. Latham is a senior partner in the Washington, D.C.-region office of Jackson Lewis LLP. He represents Fortune 200 companies, government agencies and other complex organizations in a variety of legal matters, including corporate diversity counseling, employment law and government relations.(Photo: Jackson Lewis LLP)

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C. Michael Gooden: Integrated Systems Analysts - Dr. C. Michael Gooden is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Integrated Systems Analysts, Inc. (ISA), a mid-sized high technology services firm that provides engineering, management, technical and computer systems. He served in the U.S. Navy for 17 years of active duty and 8 years in the Naval Reserve.(Photo: Integrated Systems Analysts, Inc.)