May 21, 2025
Four distinguished business leaders will be honored at the BLACK ENTERPRISE 2025 Black Men XCEL Summit.
The 2025 BLACK ENTERPRISE Black Men XCEL honorees have been announced, with Dr. George Fraser, John Hope Bryant, Larry Fitzgerald, and Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson set to be celebrated for their groundbreaking contributions to community progress.
The annual celebration honoring influential Black men in leadership returns to the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida, from Oct. 15–17. On May 20, BLACK ENTERPRISE unveiled this year’s lineup of trailblazers recognized for their contributions across business, sports, and community impact.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to pay well-deserved honor to men who are gifts to the world,” says BLACK ENTERPRISE President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.
“Their examples are a proper tribute to past XCEL Award honorees and powerful motivation to aspiring honorees to come. They are living embodiments of the Black Enterprise mission of elevating excellence.”
NFL legend Larry Fitzgerald Jr. will be honored for his impactful work across sports, philanthropy, and finance. Regarded by many as one of the greatest receivers in NFL history, Fitzgerald continues to show his prowess beyond the field as a founding general partner of Trenches Capital, a private equity firm investing across diverse sectors.
He also serves as president of Larry Fitzgerald Enterprises (LFE), his platform for values-driven business and charitable efforts. In 2005, he established the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation in memory of his mother, who passed from breast cancer in 2003. The foundation focuses on empowering underserved communities worldwide, supporting youth development, and providing resources to families affected by breast cancer.
John Hope Bryant will be honored for his business, finance, and community empowerment leadership. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Operation HOPE, the nonprofit he launched in response to the 1992 Rodney King riots to promote economic uplift in underserved communities.
Hope Bryant also leads Bryant Group Ventures and The Promise Homes Company and co-founded Global Dignity. A trusted adviser to top business and government leaders, he has authored several bestselling books on financial empowerment. His public service includes roles under Presidents Bush and Obama, where he focused on financial literacy and economic inclusion for underserved populations.
Dr. George C. Fraser will be honored for his visionary leadership in networking and entrepreneurship, focusing on uplifting Black professionals. A prolific author of influential works like Race for Success and Success Runs in Our Race, Fraser has transformed how professionals build meaningful connections.
As founder of the acclaimed PowerNetworking Conference, hailed by Forbes as one of the “top five conferences not to be missed,” Fraser has championed diversity, equity, and inclusion while creating spaces that elevate collaboration, leadership, and community empowerment. His latest book, The New Flex: The Art of Being Unapologetically Black, highlights his continued influence and unwavering commitment to empowering Black professionals.
Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson will be honored for his lifelong dedication to service and transformative leadership. He began his pastoral journey at Rising Mount Zion and St. James Baptist Churches before becoming Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in 1975, where he has led the congregation into becoming one of the nation’s most progressive faith communities.
A global servant, Rev. Richardson has traveled across five continents and championed community empowerment through founding the Coalition for the Empowerment of People of African Ancestry. His advocacy helped Mount Vernon elect Westchester County’s first predominantly African American school board in 1997.
BLACK ENTERPRISE 2025 Black Men XCEL is where excellence meets legacy. Join us in Orlando, FL | Oct. 15–17, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. For a limited time only, use code MEMORIAL25 to save on registration.
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