Debra L. Lee (born August 8, 1954) is an American businesswoman. She was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET, the parent company for

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

from 2005 to May 28, 2018. Lee has sat on the board of directors for a number of companies/organizations, including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association the Ad Council, and the National Cable Television Association. Debra Lee is named one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment" by The Hollywood Reporter due to her many achievements in her 30-plus year career at BET.

Early life and education

Debra L. Lee was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. She attended

James B. Dudley High School James Benson Dudley High School is located in the southeastern quadrant of Guilford County in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. Dudley High School was founded in 1929 as the first black high school in Guilford County, in a school system s ...

. In 1976, Lee graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science with an emphasis in Asian politics. She went on to earn a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, where she was a member of the

Board of Student Advisers The Ames Moot Court Competition is the annual upper level moot court competition at Harvard Law School. It is designed and administered by the HLS Board of Student Advisers and has been in existence since 1911, when it was founded by a bequest in ...

, in 1980.

Early career

From August 1981 through September 1981, Lee served as a law clerk to Barrington Parker of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Lee joined BET as Vice President of BET's legal affairs department and general counsel in 1986 after over five years as an attorney with Washington, D.C. based Steptoe & Johnson, a corporate law firm. She has also served as BET's corporate secretary and president and publisher of BET's publishing division, which published ''Emerge'' magazine, ''YSB'' magazine'', BET Weekend,'' and ''Heart & Soul'' magazine.

Career

In March 1996, Lee became president and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BET Holdings, Inc., replacing departing network founder,

Robert L. Johnson Robert Louis Johnson (born April 8, 1946) is an American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist, and investor. He is the co-founder of BET, which was acquired by Viacom in 2001. He also founded RLJ Companies, a holding company ...

. In 2005, she became president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).Portfolio.com Top Executive Profiles
/ref> The company had nearly $100 million in revenue last year. Under Lee, Black Entertainment Television has begun to move in a different format direction for the network. She increased the production budget by 50% and looked into incorporating original programming by getting 16 new shows for the new 2007 season. Lee has also redesigned BET's mission statement by supporting families, encouraging their dreams, and presenting fresh talent by creating new shows for its network. She created a new entertainment network, CENTRIC, in September 2009 that features new artists, reality shows, and movies.

Directorships

Lee serves on board of directors of Marriott, and Revlon. Lee is also a director of

Washington Gas Light Company WGL Holdings, Inc., is a public utility holding company that serves more than 1 million customers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. A subsidiary of AltaGas, it provides natural gas, electricity, sustainable energy, carbon neutr ...

, WGL Holdings (since 2000) and the Monsanto subsidiary Genuity. In May 2016, Lee was added to the board of directors of Twitter, following an attempt by returning CEO Jack Dorsey to boost diversity across the social media company's board.

Awards and honors

* Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame * 2002: Women of Vision Award by Women in Film & Video - DC * 2014: Received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from

References

External links

BET
*NYT Article

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Debra L. 1955 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople African-American business executives American chief executives American chief operating officers American corporate directors American women business executives American women chief executives Brown University alumni Businesspeople from Greensboro, North Carolina Chief executives in the media industry Corporate lawyers Directors of Twitter, Inc. Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Living people Marriott International people People from Columbia, South Carolina Women corporate directors Women corporate executives 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American businesswomen 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people