Debra L. Lee (born August 8, 1954) is an American businesswoman. She was the Chairman and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

BET 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 ...

, the parent company for Black Entertainment Television 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 Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training (BCT), and is located within the city of Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army gene ...

and grew up in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

. She attended James B. Dudley High School. In 1976, Lee graduated from Brown University 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 The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

and a J.D. degree at Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Board of Student Advisers, 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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

based

Steptoe & Johnson Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Brussels, Beijing, and Hong Kong. History Philip Steptoe and Louis A. Johnson, both ...

, 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 A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

(COO) of BET Holdings, Inc., replacing departing network founder, Robert L. Johnson. 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 Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hote ...

, and

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brother ...

. Lee is also a director of Washington Gas Light Company, WGL Holdings (since 2000) and the

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

subsidiary Genuity. In May 2016, Lee was added to the board of directors of

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, following an attempt by returning CEO

Jack Dorsey Jack Patrick Dorsey (born November 19, 1976) is an American Internet entrepreneur and programmer who is a co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Inc., as well as a co-founder and the CEO and chairperson of Block, Inc., the developer of the Squa ...

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 Brown University.

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