Two years ago, billionaire Robert L. Johnson was inspired by a call to action from Liberia’s president to increase investments in her country. Earlier this week, the chairman of RLJ Companies announced the grand opening of his latest venture — a luxury resort in Monrovia, Liberia.

Johnson expects his RLJ Kendeja Resort & Villas to play a critical role in economic development efforts led by the Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

“I believe passionately that African Americans have a responsibility to support Liberia and it is important to ensure that President Sirleaf succeeds in her ongoing effort in rebuilding the country,” Johnson said.

Located on 13-acres of oceanfront property, the 76-room, villa-style hotel features an on-site restaurant and a full-service spa, among other amenities. Rooms start at $220 per night.

Johnson said this project, which is valued upwards of $8 million, will help lay the foundation for advocacy efforts in the United States, on Liberia’s behalf. The resort is part of a larger commitment to Africa under the RLJ Liberia Enterprise Development Finance Co.

“This is the first steps to strengthen and broaden the ongoing business relationship between Africa and the United States,” said Johnson, who also owns RLJ Development LLC, (No. 8 on the BE Industrial/Service list with $605.2 million in revenue), and also founded Black Entertainment Television. RLJ Development was not involved with developing the resort.

Just this week, Delta Air Lines launched weekly service between Monrovia’s Roberts International Airport, which is the nearest airport, and New York City.

- Renita Burns

George C. Wolfe Takes Design from the Apple to the Peach

Tony-Award winning director George C. Wolfe will be leaving Broadway to work as the new chief creative officer at the Center for Civil & Human Rights (CCHR) in Atlanta.

“It’s amazing to be a part of an organization which is going to be located in Atlanta, yet by virtue of it’s subject matter and vision, is connected to the entire world,” said Wolfe in a press release.

Wolfe will oversee the creation of design concepts and themes for the center, He will work closely with the center’s architectural team, the Freelon Group, a black-owned architectural firm and other designers, on the $125 million, 100,000 square foot center.

Known for directing several Broadway gems including the Tony Award-winning “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk,” he also earned the directors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, and seven Emmy Award nominations for the movie “Lackawanna Blues.”

The CCHR, which is slated to open in Atlanta in 2012, is projected to have 800,000 visitors in its first year and generate $1.3 billion in economic impact for Atlanta over the course of its first 10 years in operation.

- Marcia A. Wade

Success is not easily defined by those who continually evolve past the expectations of their posts. These individuals regularly wrestle with the status quo and manage challenges through a uniquely creative prism. Not only do they do great work but their ability enhances, encourages, transforms, and reinvigorates the playing field. In music, sports, publishing, politics, and finance, these eight inspire confidence and good faith, win races and elections, as well as protect and entertain. But what distinguishes them from their peers is their pure domination of their respective spaces.

The Money Maker
Larry Felix, Director of U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

As stock market prices remain unstable and the economy sits precariously in the balance, cash is king. And Felix is the man overseeing the design and manufacturing of it in the U.S. He’s charged with overseeing the operations of the Bureau in the production of U.S. currency and other government securities and documents. He’s also responsible for the printing of 38 million notes a day with a face value of approximately $750 million. In the two years since attaining the directorship, the new $10 and $5 bills have been redesigned maintaining the integrity of U.S. paper currency. Under Felix, work continues on the redesign of the $100 bill and the development of special security details to thwart counterfeiters. Felix also manages the government office devoted to refunding damaged money—$38 million was refunded in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The Bureau, an agency of the Department of the Treasury with facilities in Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas, employs 2,000 people. Originally from Port of Spain, Trinidad, Felix was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and came to the Bureau from the United States Savings Bond Division in 1992. He has held a variety of positions in the Bureau since, including manager of marketing, chief of external relations, associate director for technology, and deputy director. During his service as deputy director he increased the frequency at which currency is redesigned and instituted training pro-grams to enable staff to respond more quickly to marketplace threats against the nation’s currency. Today, the Bureau employees managed by Felix include scientists, engineers, and specialty printers.

The Enforcer
Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General of INTERPOL

Noble is the first American to serve as Secretary General for INTERPOL, the world’s largest international police organization serving 187 countries. Since being unanimously reelected to a second five-year term in 2005, Noble directed INTERPOL’s launch of the world’s first global database of stolen and lost travel credentials. The database contains more than 15 million travel documents from more than 120 countries. This past summer, INTERPOL assisted the Chinese government with security preparations for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing by supplying a support team. INTERPOL’s passport and visa application screening process was used to identify stolen, lost, and fraudulent travel documents, as well as suspected terrorists and dangerous criminals during the games.

Between 2000 and 2007, Noble has presided over a 50% budget increase, to approximately $72.2 million for 2008. This year he opened a new office at the European Union in Brussels to promote closer cooperation and joint initiatives in Europe. He has also spearheaded the creation of a bio-terrorism prevention unit at the General Secretariat, and he has initiated the process of creating the INTERPOL Anti-Corruption Academy in Vienna, Austria, which will be the world’s first international institute dedicated to fighting corruption. This year, Noble was awarded the world-renowned Légion d’ Honneur—the highest decoration in France—by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The Reformer
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia

The first woman ever elected to lead an African nation in 2005, Johnson-Sirleaf, known as Africa’s “Iron Lady,” has been recognized as a determined advocate for peace, justice, and democratic rule in Liberia. Early in her presidency, Johnson-Sirleaf renewed security and law enforcement agencies, returned electricity and water to Liberia’s capital city, repaired roads and bridges, resettled displaced people, rehabilitated heath clinics, and improved government accountability and transparency—all of which are a part of her agenda for economic development and ending corruption and civil war in Liberia.

Johnson-Sirleaf’s strongest asset is her past career in finance. She has experience working at Liberia’s Treasury Department; served as minister of finance; was president of Liberian Bank for Development & Investment, where she led innovations to halt mismanagment of funds; and was vice president for Equator Bank in the U.S. She has represented Liberia in several financial institutions, including the African Development Bank. Johnson-Sirleaf also directed the Regional Bureau of Africa for the United Nations Development Program from 1992–1997. Since she became president, Liberia’s GDP growth has increased to 9.4% from 6.7%. Johnson-Sirleaf also facilitated a Poverty Reduction Strategy Program to relieve Liberia from a debt of approximately $3.5 billion. Liberia has also experienced an increase in private sector investments in various areas such as natural resources, tourism, infrastructure, and the construction of hotels.

Johnson-Sirleaf, 70, has been a political figure since the 1980swhen she spoke against the Samuel Doe regime. A former political prisoner—she was arrested and exiled twice—she campaigned to remove former president Charles Taylor from office. In 2007, Johnson- Sirleaf was honored with the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and received honorary doctor of law degrees from Indiana University and Brown University.

The Publishing Titan
Magnus Greaves, Founder, Doubledown Media

At a time when most magazines have lost advertisers, Greaves, founder of Doubledown Media, has experienced the reverse. His magazine group, which consists of Trader Monthly, Dealmaker, Private Air, Corporate Leader, and Cigar Report, has seen a 67% increase in advertising this year. The reason is simple, according to the 34-year-old Vancouver resident, targeting wealthy individuals shields luxury publications from downturns in the marketplace. The audience: high-net-worth men with a median income of $600,000, particularly C-suite executives, investment bankers, and private equity and venture capital investors.

As several financial institutions have fallen to bankruptcy and acquisitions, Doubledown’s subscribers have remained steady. But as the U.S. Congress was voting on a financial rescue bill, Greaves was in Dubai for the launch of his Middle Eastern version of Dealmaker, with 12,000 in circulation. He also plans to debut Trader in Brazil early next year, and he’s in negotiations with partners to launch eastern European versions of Trader and Dealmaker in Russia.

Born in Jamaica, Greaves admittedly loves magazines and has no intention of relinquishing print to the dotcom space, but believes in finding new ways to innovate publications—such as his latest venture for 2008. Greaves, in collaboration with PR/management giant Williams Morris Agency, is scheduled to launch Mymag, a new celebrity-based magazine edited by and focused on a single personality or thought leader for each issue. Doubledown reported $10 million in revenue for 2007. It projects a 50% increase for 2008.

The Quarterback
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to Sen. Barack Obama

Jarrett, at one point, tried to talk Barack Obama out of the Chicago Senate race in 2004. Obama had to convince her why he should run, and it was her validation he sought and continued to seek throughout the 2008 presidential election. Jarrett, 51, his closest consultant, has even been described as the other side of Obama’s brain. She raised nearly $60 million for the Obama campaign in mid-2007—all while holding down her day job as president and CEO of real estate development firm The Habitat Co.

Her official-unofficial title is senior adviser, a role she assumed in the fall of 2007 when Obama was lagging 20 points in the polls behind Sen. Hillary Clinton during the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Since then, Jarrett has been involved in the management decisions of every single campaign strategy, from how to convey Obama’s message of change to a cross section of Americans to handling crisis issues such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Jarrett is no stranger to politics, having served as Chicago’s commissioner of planning and development in 1991; as chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority, where she was responsible for a budget of more than $800 million, in 1995; and as chairman of the Chicago Stock Exchange in 2003.

As the vice chair of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Committee and vice chair of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees, it’s anticipated that she will be recruited for a high-profile position in an Obama administration.

The Brand Master
Kedar Massenburg, CEO of Kedar Entertainment Group and Kedar Beverages

A music industry veteran responsible for introducing and sustaining the neo-soul movement, Massenburg never thought he would find interest in the spirits business. But, when the opportunity to partner with Jean-Sébastien Robicquet arose, Massenburg seized the opportunity. The expertise of Robicquet, a master distiller with a long family history in fine spirits, mixed with Massenburg’s passion for creating and marketing new products introduced an innovative venture. In 2007, under Kedar Beverages L.L.C., he launched K’orus wines imported from Bordeaux, France, specially targeted to African Americans. Creating a unique marketing model, Massenburg would produce three varietals of white and red wine without vintage, making wine selection easier for consumers and allowing for broader distribution to a variety of chain suppliers throughout the country.

He has not, however, relinquished his base. Massenburg’s beverage company regularly sponsors his music events. As CEO of Kedar Entertainment Group, this year he entered a 50/50 partnership with R&B artist Joe, in which the two will share all profits and rights of his recordings, including the masters—an unprecedented model for independent artists and recording labels, creating an environment where artists and execs can profit equally. This year Joe’s CD, Ain’t Nothin’ Like Me, debuted at No. 8 on Billboard’s Top 200, the highest debut for an independent artist in the history of the chart.

The Dealmaker
Quintin E. Primo III CEO of Capri Capital Partners L.L.C.

Primo likes cycling, swimming and reading. But when he’s not enjoying his favorite pastimes, he’s putting together multibillion-dollar real estate deals.

With housing values in the U.S. declining and the subprime mortgage crisis making banks gun-shy about extending loans and credit, real estate investment opportunities are perhaps fewer and further between than ever. Primo, however, was already doing what any true entrepreneur would do—looking for deals overseas.

The result: The CEO of Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners L.L.C. (No. 4 on the BE ASSET MANAGERS list with $5.3 billion in assets under management) recently inked a $2 billion deal to develop part of the central business district in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Capri’s project will feature two 1 million-square-foot office towers, two five-star hotels, a retail mall, a pair of residential condominium projects, and a convention center.

Primo is also eyeing locales in Africa, such as Libya, which offers extraordinary weather and beaches on the Mediterranean, he says. Near Egypt and Morocco, Libya is not as commercially viable as its neighbors, which Primo believes makes it a ripe location for investment projects and capital.

Being a person of color creates a benefit in developing relationships with people on the continent and in the Middle East. “Invariably,” he says, “in approaching the market I find myself sitting across the table from people who look just like me.”

TheSprinter
Kimberly N. Holland, CEO of Icon Management Inc.

At most sporting events, she’s often mistaken for a publicist, family member, or a girlfriend, but Holland, president and CEO of sports company Icon Management Inc., has never let stereotypical perceptions derail her ambitions. Originally from Washington, D.C., she earned a juris doctorate from Regent University School of Law in May 2002, and served as a legislative foreign policy assistant to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and as a paralegal at LaFace Records. In 2000 she seized an opportunity to manage career negotiations for Olympian Terrence Trammell, and eventually realized her potential as a sports agent. The prospect of becoming a formidable player in the field was amplified at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Among Holland’s roster of athletes, five brought home medals—eight in track and field—double what she amassed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Such revenue has increased her negotiation power. Before the 2008 games an athlete, appearance may have netted a $5,000–$10,000 fee. She can now command between $30,000 and $40,000 for an Olympic athlete. Holland also recently negotiated a multimillion-dollar deal with Nike for Olympian Walter Dix—the first and largest endorsement deal in track-and-field history for a collegiate athlete making the transition to professional competition. For 2009, Holland plans to expand into athletic management for the NFL and perhaps the NBA.

– Sean Drakes, Brittany Hutson, and Alan Hughes contributed to this article.

Originally published in the December 2008 issue.