investor in Silicon Valley. The reputation of this world-renown hub is inescapable. Yet, the reputation of John Thompson, a technology leader who led Symantec for 10 years (1999-2009) during its rapid growth stage, and is today both an entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley, is hidden from the landscape of black Americans. Even his appointment as chairman of the board of Microsoft, succeeding Bill Gates in the seat of power of the iconic tech company Gates’ started, has done little to improve awareness of Thompson’s name in black America. He remains hidden in the shadow of the iconic Coach Thompson of Georgetown University basketball fame and lore.
Emmett Carson: Philanthropy Leader
Emmett Carson is the founding CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a philanthropic entity with nearly $3B in assets under management. The Foundation Center ranks SVCF No. 2 in the nation, behind Tulsa Community Foundation. Carson ranks No. 1 in reputation as one of the foremost philanthropic thought leaders in the world. Carson has more than 100 published works on philanthropy and is regarded as an expert on issues of social justice, public accountability and black American giving. Yet, across the landscape of black Americans, he is unknown.
Carla Harris: Wealth Management Leader
Carla Harris is Vice Chair of Wealth Management at
Morgan Stanley, a 25-year veteran of Wall Street
and Chair of the National Women’s Business Council, appointed by President Obama. She is also the author of “Expect to Win: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace.” Few black women in America are in a position to provide mentoring and insights into how to succeed in a white male-dominated corporate landscape than a black woman who has risen through
the ranks to a top plateau in the dog-eat-dog world of Wall Street corporate finance and wealth management. Yet, Harris is unknown to millions of black boys and girls with professional aspirations in the financial industries, as well as to men and women currently struggling in corporate environments. Her story, like so many others who
have reached a level of unparalleled success in their industry, remains hidden from black audiences.
Ken Coleman: Private Equity Investment Leader
If you Google the name Andreesen, inevitably it will be married to the name Horowitz. The iconic $4 billion private equity investment firm of Andreesen Horowitz sits on the iconic Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley, the home of numerous well-known venture capital investment firms. Behind the name “Horowitz” is the story of a black man, Ken Coleman, who currently serves as a Special Advisor to Andreesen Horowitz and mentor to Ben Horowitz, whom he once hired. Coleman recently recruited former Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty to the firm and is assisting him in acclimating to an environment that operates at light speed compared to the bureaucratic crawl of D.C. politics. Coleman is assisting Andreesen Horowitz in a build-out of its black American network, seeking promising entrepreneurs and investors of color nationwide. When Jesse Jackson headed to Silicon Valley to speak with shareholders about the lack of diversity in the tech sector, he sat down with Coleman to get an understanding of the landscape. A few weeks later, Google announced that it finally would divulge demographic data pertaining to its 50,000 employees. David Drummond, Google’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer (and another name largely unknown across black America), applauded the revelation.
Johnathan Holifield: Tech-Based Economic Development Policy Leader
America is undergoing a painful economic metamorphosis, transitioning from its former industrial manufacturing economy to a 21st century tech-driven Innovation Economy, marked by radical changes in technology, speed of global information and industry disruptions as startups account for nearly all net new jobs in America (since 1980, according to the Kauffman Foundation). The rapid pace of such innovation is shortening the life cycles
of mature businesses and corporations and producing high-growth tech-driven startups propelled by the rocket fuel of venture capital investments. Tech startups are producing unprecedented profit margins while generating wealth at an unprecedented pace in the history of the world.
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