Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.
Earl G. Graves Jr. (Butch) is president & CEO of Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., publisher of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine. He is responsible for the strategic positioning and overall profitability of the corporation.
Butch joined BLACK ENTEPRISE in 1988 after earning his M.B.A. from Harvard University. His first position with the company was vice president of advertising and marketing. In 1991, he was promoted to senior vice president of advertising and marketing, and in 1995, he was named executive vice president and chief operating officer. He was appointed president and chief operating officer in 1998, and named president and CEO on Jan. 5, 2006.
Under Butch’s guidance, the magazine has grown rapidly, realizing more than 10 consecutive years of advertising revenue growth. He has helped establish the strong niche marketing position of BLACK ENTERPRISE among national business publications and supported award-winning marketing programs that boosted circulation growth. Since 1997, the magazine has been a five-time recipient of the FOLIO: Editorial Excellence Award in the category of business/finance consumer magazines. BLACK ENTERPRISE has a guaranteed circulation of more than 525,000, and a readership of more than 3.9 million.
Butch has played a leading role in developing the magazine's successful professional networking events—the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, the Golf & Tennis Challenge, the Women of Power Summit, and the financial empowerment series’—and was instrumental in establishing the Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street Growth Partners, a $91 million private equity investment fund for which he is also a managing partner.
Butch received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University in 1984, distinguishing himself both academically and athletically. As a four-year starter and captain of the Yale basketball team, Butch became the school's all-time leading scorer and finished his college basketball career as the second leading scorer in Ivy League history. He was drafted in the third round by the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers in 1984 and enjoyed a brief professional basketball career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Inducted into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Achievement in November 2002, Butch was also awarded the AAF Jack Averett Volunteer Spirit Award and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2006. He was included in The Network Journal’s “40 under 40” listing in 1998.
Butch is a powerful advocate of doing business with minority media and advertising agencies and is currently chairman of the Madison Avenue Initiative. He occasionally lends his support to AAIA, an AAF affiliate. Butch serves on the board of advisors of Earl G. Graves Ltd. and Channel Thirteen/WNET’s Educational Broadcasting Corp. He holds positions on the corporate boards of several other companies, including AutoZone, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, the Pepsi African American Advisory Board, and the Magazine Publishers of America.
Butch and his family reside in New York.
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