猛男情报局 Students Get Advice and Inspiration From Story Of First African American Billion Dollar Dealmaker
In celebration of Black History Month, accomplished lawyer, author and human rights activist Loida Lewis came to 猛男情报局 College to speak about her late husband, businessman and philanthropist Reginald F. Lewis.
Reginald rose to prominence as a lawyer, financier and leader of TLC Beatrice International. He was the first African American ever to close an overseas billion dollar leveraged buyout deal. He acquired an unprecedented global conglomerate, and paved the way for future entrepreneurs and black leaders.
鈥淗e is an amazing role model for the students to see. He鈥檚 the American dream: from humble beginnings to high achievement and then turning that toward philanthropy and giving back,鈥� said School of Business Dean Ed Weis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for the students to see someone who has always earned his way, dreamt big, but took action every day and built relationships 鈥� you can鈥檛 do it alone.鈥�
Lewis鈥� appearance represents the College鈥檚 ongoing commitment to put its students together with thought leaders and industry experts across all academic disciplines. As part of its Executive Speaker Series, the School of Business has brought in speakers from Fortune 500 companies such as: Facebook, Disney, JP Morgan, Google, Goldman Sachs, Spotify and Essie Cosmetics to name a few.
Business student Shakim Williams attended the event and related to Reginald鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit which began as a young child with a paper route.
鈥淚 remember doing fundraisers as a kid and always keeping track of my sales just like Mr. Lewis did when he was young. It was definitely cool to see what we have in common,鈥� said Williams.
Business major Penelope Urbina was inspired by Reginald鈥檚 ability to set goals and always have a clear direction. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go from 0-100, you have to start somewhere and just keep working, learning and growing from there,鈥� said Urbina.
鈥淪eeing his sense of direction and what you can achieve when you work at something every day was really inspiring. If you set a goal, break it up into things you can do every day and keep working on it you can achieve anything,鈥� said finance major Hosty Hernandez.
Loida Lewis chairs the Reginald F. Lewis (RFL) Foundation and travels the country speaking about her husband鈥檚 life and work. In her own career, she was the first Asian woman to pass the New York State bar exam and has a successful career as an immigration lawyer and activist.
To learn more about Reginald F. Lewis, a video about his life and work can be found .