DEBRA LEE,
Chairman and CEO, BET
BET continues to make history under chairman and CEO Debra Lee’s direction. The addition of BET Honors and the BET Hip Hop Awards to its list of signature events, as well as the cable network’s historic coverage of President Obama’s inauguration, has kept the station moving in a forward progression. The introduction of the new reality show “Harlem Heights,” featuring a group of young African American professionals representing the new Harlem Renaissance, is more evidence of that trend.
The Harvard Law school graduate shares, “We have so many good things going on with new programs. I am really excited about it. We have a great team in place [and] the viewers are excited.” As the head of the leading African American multimedia entertainment company which attracts an audience between the ages of 12 to 54, she adds, “[BET] is committed to all aspects of our audience’s lives.”
Lee, a consummate executive, is committed to the community and serves on a number of corporate boards including Marriott, Kodak and Revlon, along with several nonprofit boards, including Alvin Ailey and Girls Inc. “It’s really important to me as an individual not only to run a successful company, but also to find ways to give back, [like] through the network with the Rap-it-Up campaign. It’s important to me to influence young people through programming and through other causes and other works that I do outside of [BET].” Lee is the mother of teenagers, a son and a daughter. –yvette caslin
