TheGrio’s 100: John Rice, changing the complexion of corporate America
TheGrio's 100 - With a Harvard MBA and management experience at Disney and the NBA, Rice founded Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) in 2000...
John Rice decided to take a hands-on approach to changing the complexion of corporate America. With a Harvard MBA and management experience at Disney and the NBA, Rice founded Management Leadership for Tomorrow in 2000. He’s since trained thousands of diverse leaders to take the ranks and climb the corporate ladder across America, and he’s nowhere near stopping.
John Rice is making history … by bolstering the number of qualified African-American, Hispanic and Native American leaders in MBA schools and fast-track corporate jobs. With MLT programs for each phase of career development, Rice is opening doors to high-potential leaders from racially diverse backgrounds. The result? A staggering 40 percent of the minority students at Harvard Business School, Kellogg, and Wharton are MLT alumni. You’ll also find MLT alums at major consulting firms and on Wall Street; nearly 2,000 of Rice’s protégés are in leadership pipelines at the world’s best companies, including Google, Target, PepsiCo and Citi.
What’s next for John?
In May, MLT’s 2011 boot camp week will kick off in New York City, bringing more than 200 rising leaders into conversations with each other and top-tier global companies.
In his own words …
“For the minority manager, what they need to understand is, how do you play the game to win? What’s the bar for excellence? What does it take to get promoted? What does it take to avoid the things that could derail somebody? We’re trying to prepare people to navigate their careers in a way that takes the minority issue out of it,” Rice said in a 2010 interview with NPR.
On black history …
“Black history is such a rich combination of struggles, breakthroughs, accomplishments and celebrations,” Rice told theGrio. “Every day I try to take at least one meaningful step toward helping someone else accomplish a goal that they did not think was possible. And I try to celebrate every small breakthrough in some way.”
A little-known fact …
Although comprising nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population, African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans comprise only 3 percent of senior leaders in corporations, non-profits and entrepreneurial ventures, according to MLT’s website.
Click here for more …
