Debra L. Lee

Debra L. Lee, Esq. (born 1955, in Fort Jackson, South Carolina) is an American businesswoman. Currently, she is the President and Chief Executive Officer of BET Holdings, Inc., the parent company for Black Entertainment Television. She is the mother of two children and is affiliated with the Democratic Party. Lee has sat on the board of directors for a number of companies/organizations, including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association the Ad Council, and the National Cable Television Association.

Biography

Education

Lee graduated from Brown University in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in political science with an emphasis in Asian politics. She went on to earn a Master's degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a law degree at Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Board of Student Advisers, in 1980.

Legal and early BET career

From August 1980 through September 1981, Lee served as a law clerk to the late Honorable Barrington Parker of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Lee joined BET as Vice President of BET's legal affairs department and general counsel in 1986 after over five years as an attorney with Washington, D.C. based Steptoe & Johnson, a corporate law firm. She has also served as BET's corporate secretary and president and publisher of BET's publishing division, which publishes Emerge BET Weekend and Heart & Soul magazines.^[1]

As CEO of BET Holdings

In March 1996, Lee became President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BET Holdings, Inc., replacing departing network founder, Robert L. Johnson.^[2][3] In 2005, she became President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).^[4] The company had nearly $100 million in revenue last year.^[5]

Lee is the chairman of the board for BET and also serves on board of directors of Eastman Kodak Company, Marriott, and Revlon.^[6][7] Lee is also a director of Washington Gas Light Company and WGL Holdings since 2000.^[4]

As Chief Executive Office of Black Entertainment Television

Under Lee, Black Entertainment Television has begun to move in a different format direction for the network. She increased the production budget by 50% and looked into incorporating original programming by getting 16 new shows for the new 2007 season.

References

1. ^ African American News
2. ^ WSJ
3. ^ The Paley Center for Media
4. ^ ^{a b} Portfolio.com Top Executive Profiles
5. ^ Hoover's
6. ^ TopBlacks
7. ^ NNDB

External links

• BET
• NYT Article: At BET, Fighting the Rerun

Persondata
Name	Lee, Debra L.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1955
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death