The latest U.S. Census report on black-owned businesses shows a growth rate three times the national average. The 10 black-owned companies listed here are excellent models for those who aspire to economic independence.
In 2010, revenue rose 45 percent to $3.2 billion as demand from the public and private sectors soared for this Maryland Heights, Mo., firm's technology products and consulting services. David L. Steward, chairman of the board, founded World Wide Technology in 1990. Prior to working at WWT, Steward, who earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Central Missouri State University, was a senior-level manager at Federal Express, Wagner Electric and Missouri Pacific Railroad.
Last September, President Obama enlisted a seasoned entrepreneur when he appointed Kase Lawal to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation. In 1986 the Nigerian-born chairman and CEO of CAMAC founded his company, which has annual revenue of about $1.5 billion to explore, develop and operate oil properties. Lawal, who has a B.S. in chemical engineering and an MBA, worked as a chemist and a chemical engineer prior to starting CAMAC in Houston.
The Detroit company, a tier-one supplier of motor-vehicle parts and accessories, is in a tough industry. Its joint-venture partner, Johnson Controls, a technology and industrial company, owns 49 percent of the business. Ronald E. Hall Sr. has been CEO at Bridgewater since its 1998 launch. The company, which had revenue of $1.1 billion in 2009, is known for its high-quality work on popular Ford and General Motors vehicles.
Companies with staffing, human resources or business concerns turn to Janice Bryant Howroyd for her expertise, and she has built a firm with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. The North Carolina A&T University graduate founded ACT-1, headquartered in Torrance, Calif., in 1978, and is CEO of what is now the nation's largest woman- and minority-owned employment-services company. Howroyd is the author of The Art of Work: How to Make Work, Work for You!
If you name your work-force-management company ZeroChaos, you better deliver. Harold F. Mills is CEO of the Orlando, Fla., staff-services firm, with annual sales of $700 million. The company has customers in 14 countries. In 2010 the Orlando Business Journal hailed the former Ameritech executive as one of its 40 Under 40 leaders. Mills has a bachelor's degree from Purdue University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Follow him on Twitter
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