On a acold wintertime time successful January 2014, Mark Tatum sat nervously astatine NBA office successful New York. At the time, he was the league’s executive vice president successful complaint of world trading partnerships and for days he knew a large determination astir his NBA profession was coming. Adam Silver, who had conscionable been named NBA Commissioner and main executive of the league, told Tatum that he was being considered for the lawman commissioner role. And connected January 31, the league’s owners were casting their last votes.
The last tally was 30-0 and 12 years later, Tatum remains the highest-ranking Black executive successful sports.
“When I was increasing up successful the business,” Tatum tells Forbes, “I ne'er dreamed that becoming the lawman commissioner was an option. My dream was to go the caput of firm sponsorship successful a league. So, for me, getting that telephone telephone was a small spot of a pinch myself [moment]. I can't judge this is really happening. And from a practice standpoint, I knew the value of the moment.”
Tatum is tasked pinch increasing the NBA’s business and the affairs of its 30 franchises, which are worthy much than $5.4 cardinal connected average, according to Forbes. Additionally, the NBA operates a convention successful China that’s weighted astatine much astatine a reported $5 billion, a convention successful Africa worthy much than $1 billion, and is scheduled to commencement a convention successful Europe by October 2027.
“You’re looking astatine a $180 cardinal marketplace headdress company,” Tatum says of the NBA. “I deliberation what you’re seeing is group are very bullish connected the prospects of the NBA. We’re a world sport.”
The boy of a Jamaican begetter and Asian mother, Tatum was calved successful Vietnam and raised successful Brooklyn, New York. He’s the 2nd Black executive to service arsenic the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner. The first was Simon Gourdine, who took the domiciled successful 1974 and passed distant successful 2012. “It’s a captious portion of the business world and oftentimes does not get the attraction that it deserves,” Tatum says of Black Business Month, which was launched successful 2004 and celebrated each August. “I deliberation group underestimate the effect that Black businesses person connected the system and person connected this country,” he adds. “There needs to beryllium much acquisition connected the value and the contributions of Black businesses.”
Tatum said pinch The Enterprise Zone podcast astir what the Deputy Commissioner domiciled intends to him. He besides shared the 5 Black business leaders who animate him:
David Grain
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David Grain, Founder, Grain Management
In 2007, Grain started Grain Management, a backstage equity patient that invests successful telecommunications infrastructure for illustration fibre networks, wireless spectrum, and cellphone towers. Grain, 64, has a nett worthy of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes.
“David is conscionable truthful principled, truthful down to earth, truthful disciplined arsenic an investor, but besides very giving,” Tatum says. “He gives a batch backmost to the Martha's Vineyard Museum. He's besides personification who, successful his hiring, makes judge that there's awesome practice of African-Americans wrong his company.”Sheila Johnson
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Sheila Johnson, Cofounder, BET Network
Johnson, 77, is simply a ForbesBLK 50 honoree and co-founded BET successful 1980 pinch her then-husband, Robert Johnson. Viacom bought BET for $3 cardinal successful 2001. Today, she is 1 of the fewer Black female billionaires and owns stakes successful 3 master sports teams: the NBA’s Wizards, the WNBA’s Mystics, and the NHL’s Capitals. Johnson besides founded the Salamander Collection, a hospitality company.
“I learned from Sheila the powerfulness of relationships and the powerfulness of putting her money wherever her rima is,” Tatum says. “She was a believer successful the WNBA erstwhile others were questioning and doubting the powerfulness of women's sports.” He adds, “What I learned from her is really don't springiness up connected ideas; proceed to put if you judge successful them, proceed to marketplace these things. Over time, group will travel astir to your measurement of thinking.”Ed Lewis
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Ed Lewis, Cofounder, Essence magazine
Lewis, 86, started his profession arsenic a financial expert earlier founding Essence mag successful 1969. He built the publication for Black women into a awesome integer level that now includes a celebrated euphony show successful New Orleans.
“I deliberation the point that inspired me,” says Tatum, “[Lewis] took this idea, he took this opportunity, created a merchandise astir it to capable a gap, past he created a level astir it.”Reginald F. Lewis was featured connected the screen of Forbes successful December 1987.
Courtesy Reginald F. Lewis family
Reginald Lewis, Former CEO, TLC Beatrice International Holdings
Lewis, a erstwhile firm lawyer, made history successful 1987 arsenic the first Black American to ain and tally a billion-dollar company. He led the $985 million leveraged buyout of Beatrice International, a nutrient conglomerate. In 1991, the Baltimore autochthonal joined The Forbes 400 pinch a nett worthy of $340 million.
“In position of representation,” Tatum says, “growing up, erstwhile I first started getting into the business world, he was personification that I admired from afar because present was this relative who was connected the Forbes list. Up until that point, that hadn’t been seen before.”Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners, speaks onstage during the 2025 ForbesBLK Summit astatine Morehouse College successful October 2025.
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Robert Smith, Founder, Vista Equity Partners
Smith, 63, grew up successful Colorado and founded Vista Equity Partners, the largest Black-owned backstage equity patient successful the U.S., managing complete $100 cardinal successful assets. Today, Smith’s nett worthy is estimated astatine $10 billion, making him the 5th richest among the world’s 27 Black billionaires.
“Robert gives backmost to young Black entrepreneurs,” Tatum says. “He shows up. There are a fistful of events that I've been to wherever location person been different elder Black executives; immoderate that are aspiring executives. When Robert walks into the room, he talks to everybody. He shows up successful those rooms. He shows up successful those places, and he is passionate astir creating much wealthiness successful the Black community. I don't deliberation that gets a full batch of (media attention).”MORE FROM FORBES
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