Pamela Thomas-Graham (born June 24, 1963) is an American businesswoman, corporate leader, and author.Lawrence Otis Graham Bio. Retrieved from . In August 2016, Thomas-Graham was elected by the

Clorox Company The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

board of directors as the lead independent director. Previously, she was a senior executive at

Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...

, and served on the bank's 10-member executive board, until October 2015; was a partner at McKinsey and Company; president and CEO of CNBC; and Group President of

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...

Biography

Early life and education

Thomas-Graham was raised in Detroit, Michigan, with her older brother, Vincent, where her mother, Marian, was a social worker, and her father, Albert, a Detroit city government employee, "worked in real estate", as the deputy director of the Buildings and Safety Engineering Department. Thomas-Graham graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University with a B.A. in economics, magna cum laude, in 1985. She graduated from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

with an MBA in 1988, and from

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 ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1989. She was an editor of ''Harvard Law Review''.

Career

Thomas-Graham began her career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where she was a summer associate in the investment banking division while she was student at Harvard Business School. In 1995, she was the first African American woman to become partner at the international management consulting firm

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

. In 1999, Thomas-Graham joined NBC as president of CNBC.com and in 2001, she became chief executive of the cable TV network CNBC. Her successful launch of the network's business website became a Harvard Business School Case study authored by Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter. In September 2005, she left CNBC and was hired as president of Liz Claiborne, Inc. In January 2010, Thomas-Graham joined the executive board of

as Chief Talent, Branding and Communications Officer. In August 2016, she was elected by Clorox to serve as the Lead independent director of its board.. Thomas-Graham serves on the board of the New York Philharmonic and the Parsons School of Design. She is a member of

the Economic Club of New York The Economic Club of New York is a U.S. nonprofit and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to promoting the study and discussion of social, economic and political questions. History Founded in 1907, the Economic Club of New York is t ...

and the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. Thomas-Graham is the author of a three-title book series, "Ivy League Mysteries", published by Simon & Schuster: ''A Darker Shade Of Crimson'' (1998), ''Blue Blood'' (1999), and ''Orange Crushed'' (2004). Thomas-Graham is the creator and owner of ''Dandelion Chandelier'', a blog that explores the intersection of luxury, wellness, marketing, and technology.

Personal life

Thomas-Graham and her late husband the author and attorney,

Lawrence Otis Graham Lawrence Otis Graham (December 25, 1961 – February 19, 2021) was an American attorney, political analyst, cultural influencer and celebrated ''New York Times'' best-selling author.

(1961–2021) have three children together and lived in New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas-Graham, Pamela African-American novelists American mystery writers People from Chappaqua, New York American women chief executives Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Law School alumni McKinsey & Company people 1963 births Living people African-American women in business 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women novelists Women mystery writers 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers Harvard College alumni