Earl
G. Graves is a nationally recognized authority on Black business
development and the founder and publisher of BLACK ENTERPRISE
Magazine. In 1972, he was named one of the 10 most outstanding
minority businessmen in the country by the President of the United
States, and received the National Award of Excellence in recognition
of his achievements in minority business enterprise. He is also
listed in Who's Who in America, and in 1974 was named one of Time
Magazine's 200 future leaders of the country.
Today, he is Chairman of Earl G. Graves, Ltd., parent corporation
for the Earl G. Graves Publishing Company, publisher of BLACK
ENTERPRISE Magazine - a business-service publication targeted
to black professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and policy makers
in the public and private sector. It has been profitable since
its 10th issue and yearly sales (currently nearly $60 million)
are steadily increasing. BLACK ENTERPRISE has a paid circulation
of 510,000 with a readership of more than 3.9 million. It is carried
on board most major airlines, and can be found on newsstands nationwide.
Since 1997, the magazine has been a five-time recipient of the
FOLIO: Editorial Excellence Award in the category of Business/Finance
consumer magazines.
In January 2006, Mr. Graves named his eldest son Earl "Butch"
Graves Jr. as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. The promotion
of Graves Jr. to CEO represents the transition of Earl G. Graves
Ltd. to the next generation of leadership. His formal title is
President and CEO.
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Earl
Graves (standing) enjoys spending time with wife, Barbara,
their three sons and eight grandchildren. |
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Earl G. Graves Sr. also served as Chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola
of Washington, D.C., L.P., the largest minority-controlled Pepsi-Cola
franchise in the United States. He acquired the $60 million franchise
in July of 1990. The company covered a franchise territory of
over 400 square miles including Washington, D.C. and Prince George's
County, Maryland. At year-end 1998, he sold the franchise back
to the parent company where he continues to be actively involved
as Chairman of the Pepsi African-American Advisory Board. In March
2005, Mr. Graves was awarded the Harvey C. Russell Inclusion Award
from Pepsi.
Mr. Graves is a staunch advocate of higher education and equal
opportunity. In recognition of his support of entrepreneurial
education and his many years of contributing to Morgan State University,
including a $1 million gift to advance business education, the
University renamed its school of business and management, the
Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The announcement
was made by University President Dr. Earl Richardson during the
BLACK ENTERPRISE 25th Anniversary Gala on August 9, 1995.
Mr. Graves was an Administrative Assistant to the late Senator
Robert F. Kennedy from 1965 to 1968. After Senator Kennedy's assassination,
Mr. Graves formed his own management-consulting firm to advise
corporations on urban affairs and economic development. Included
among the firm's clients were major multinational companies.
Mr. Graves serves as a Director of Aetna, Inc., AMR Corporation
(American Airlines), and DaimlerChrysler AG Corporation. In addition,
Mr. Graves serves as a volunteer on the boards of TransAfrica
Inc. and the American Museum of Natural History and Planetarium.
In 2002, Mr. Graves was named by Fortune Magazine as one of the
50 most powerful and influential African Americans in corporate
America and also was appointed to serve on the current administration's
Presidential Commission for the National Museum of African American
History and Culture. He also serves on the Board of Selectors
of the American Institute for Public Service, the Advisory Council
of the Character Education Partnership, the Board of the Steadman-Hawkins
Sports Medicine Foundation, The Schomburg Center for Research
in Black Culture and the National Advisory Board of the National
Underground Railroad Freedom Center. In addition, Mr. Graves is
a trustee of Howard University, the Committee for Economic Development,
the Special Contributions Fund of the NAACP and the New York Economic
Club. He also served as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the
U.S. Army from 1978 to 1980.
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Earl
Graves greets President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office during
a visit to the White House. |
Mr. Graves is a ROTC graduate, attended Airborne and Ranger School
and finished his Army Career (in the rank of Captain) as a member
to the 19th Special Forces Group, the Green Berets. He is also
the recipient of the U.S. Army Commendation Award.
Long active in Scouting, Mr. Graves currently serves as a Vice
President of the National Executive Board and is also a member
of the Marketing Committee for the National Office of the Boy
Scouts of America. He was formerly National Commissioner of Scouting,
and Chairman of the National Communications Committee. Mr. Graves
is the recipient of scouting's highest recognition awards for
volunteer service: the Silver Buffalo Award, 1988; the Silver
Antelope Award, 1986; and the Silver Beaver Award, 1969.
During the span of his business and professional career, Mr.
Graves has received numerous awards and honors for his outstanding
business leadership and community service. In 1998, he received
the Marietta Tree Award for Public Service from the Citizens Committee
for New York City, Inc.; the Charles Evans Hughes Gold Medal Award
from The National Conference for Community and Justice; the Ronald
H. Brown Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce;
and the Merrick-Moore Spaulding National Achievement Award at
the 100th Anniversary celebration of North Carolina Mutual Life
Insurance Company, among others. In 1995, he was named New York
City Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and was also
inducted into the National Sales Hall of Fame by the Association
of Sales and Marketing Executives. Other awards include the Dow
Jones & Company Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in 1992;
the 1991 "Free Enterprise Award" from the International
Franchise Association; and the New York State Regents Medal of
Excellence. In 1999 he received the 84th NAACP Spingarn Medal,
the highest achievement award for African Americans and was named
one of the Top 100 Business News Luminaries of the Century by
TJFR, a publication that covers business journalism. In that same
year, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Caribbean Tourism Organization. In 2005, Mr. Graves was inducted
into the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) Academy
of Achievement Hall of Fame, and named Entrepreneur of the Century
by Atlanta Life Financial Group at the company's centennial celebration
this year. In January 2006, he was immortalized in wax as ExxonMobil
commissioned a likeness of him to be exhibited in the National
Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. In August,
he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association
of Black Journalists (NABJ) for his contributions to the field
of journalism and the publishing industry. In October, civil rights
activist and founding Black Enterprise Board of Advisors member
Julian Bond interview Mr. Graves for "An Evening with Earl Graves,"
a program of The HistoryMakers that will air on PBS beginning
in February 2007.
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NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and NAACP
Chairman Julian Bond flank Earl Graves after presenting him
with the 84th Spingarn Medal in 1999. |
Mr. Graves is a member of the National Black College Hall of
Fame and has also lectured at Yale University as a Poynter Fellow.
He received his B.A. degree in economics from Morgan State College
(now Morgan State University) in Baltimore, Maryland, and has
received honorary degrees from over 60 colleges and universities,
including his alma mater.
Elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2000, Mr. Graves is continually sought after as a keynote speaker
by small and large corporations, as well as the public and non-profit
sectors of business in America. He has authored a book entitled,
"How to Succeed in Business Without Being White," which chronicles
his strategies for success. Published by HarperBusiness Publications,
the book was released in April 1997 and made the New York Times
and the Wall Street Journal Business Best Sellers lists. It was
also selected as a finalist for the 1997 Financial Times/Booz-Allen
& Hamilton Global Business Book Award.
Mr. Graves was born in Brooklyn, New York and currently resides
in Westchester County with his wife, Barbara, of 46 years. Mr.
and Mrs. Graves have three married sons, all successful professionals
who work in the family's businesses, and eight grandchildren.
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