Harry C Alford

In less than a decade, NBCC President, CEO and co-founder Harry Alford has established himself as perhaps the nation's preeminent champion of African-American business empowerment. From a visionary concept of what Blacks need to do to fully seize their place in the economic mainstream, Mr. Alford has built a global organization that has earned a place at the table in the White House and at the top levels of Corporate America. As the intellectual and spiritual linchpin of the NBCC, Mr. Alford has been responsible for opening doors that have led to billions of dollars in new business for Black-owned businesses throughout the nation. His courage and leadership has been noted by all in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. His relentless energy and advocacy is helping forge international business opportunities for African-Americans and emerging entrepreneurs in Africa, the Caribbean, South America and the rest of the Black Diaspora. For this work he was recently named a Cultural Ambassador by the US State Department. A native of California, Mr. Alford has made his mark at the highest levels of both the private and public sectors. After earning top honors as Company Commander in the Army's Officer Candidate School class, Mr. Alford put his leadership skills to work in a series of key sales and executive positions at Fortune 100 companies such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and the Sara Lee Corporation. Mr. Alford has led large trade missions to Brazil, Ghana, Kenya and various nations in the Caribbean. Recently, he helped establish the French African Diaspora Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France. The birth and growth of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (celebrating its 15th anniversary) is consistent with the dynamic growth of African American owned businesses in the United States – the fastest growing segment in the nation per the US Census Bureau.Mr. Alford writes weekly business columns for the National Newspaper Publishers Association's members across the country and consults and speaks on this matter to groups and agencies throughout the nation. He proudly serves on the NNPA Foundation Board of Directors. He is an active member of the Board of Directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce and he is a member of the 2008 Health Sector Assembly which is a think tank of national leaders concerned about healthcare. As a consultant, he has developed business models tailored to specific corporations and public agencies. Mr. Alford is regularly called upon by Congress to testify on various legislative initiatives related to small business development, the Gulf Coast rebuilding, e-commerce, health care, social security reform, tax reform and global trade issues. He has delivered key testimony, for example, on the ongoing debate over energy policy issues. Mr. and Mrs. Alford reside in Maryland and have two sons.