4 | July 2021 BUSINESS
Veteran Business Executive Forms Minority-Owned Professional Services and Corporate Advisory Holding Company Minority-Owned Professional Services and Corporate Advisory Holding Company By d-mars.com News Provider
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n response to the growing market demand to provide integrated professional and business solutions, veteran business executive and CEO advisor Jarvis Stewart announced today the formation of Highland Poe. Stewart will serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at the holding company and Chief Strategist to each of the three portfolio companies – Cover Communications, Ian Reid, and HP Global Advisors. Headquartered in Washington, DC with senior and strategic advisors across the United States, Dubai, and Guyana, Highland Poe’s portfolio companies offer professional services in strategic and diversity communications, federal government and regulatory affairs, and corporate advisory in environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) and capital markets consulting. “As the U.S. and global economies continue to recover from the financial devastation of last year, CEOs and business leaders are in search of a professional, integrated services firm that understands their challenges and offers creative growth solutions rooted in experience and relationships,” said Jarvis Stewart, Chairman and CEO of Highland Poe. “We have assembled a diverse team of leaders with expertise in equity and inclusion, public policy, and global investment and corporate development.” In addition to Stewart, the senior leadership of Highland Poe includes Vice Chairs and equity partners Matthew McGuire, Shawn Rochester, and Ja'Ron Smith. Appointed by former President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, McGuire is the former U.S. executive director of the World Bank Group and has more than 20 years of financial and investment experience. Rochester, a celebrated author and corporate
strategist, is credited with his advice and counsel to Fortune 100 companies on seamless ways to leverage their brand and incorporate equity and inclusion goals into their business verticals. Rochester also spent more than a decade as a senior M&A and corporate development manager at IBM, International Paper, and Amphenol. Smith brings extensive Executive and Legislative Branch experience to Highland Poe. He is the former Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and formerly served on the legislative team for U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. Smith is also the executive director at the Center for Advancing Opportunities, a research and education project of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. Other senior team members include MIT-educated economist Dr. Julianne Ma lve au x, a senior advisor at Cover C om mu n ic at ion s, former U. S. Senate Ba n k ing Subcommittee counsel Joi Sheffield, a senior advisor at Ia n Reid, Guyana-based business executive, Abbigale L o n c k e , a nd D a mu Winston, Dubai UAEba sed f int e c h e nt r e preneu r a nd
enterprise innovator. Former U.S. Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary, Daraka “Doc” Satcher will serve as general counsel at Highland Poe. For more information about Highland Poe, visit www.highlandpoe.com. Source: NNPA
Photo Caption: Jarvis Stewart will serve as chairman and CEO of Highland Poe, overseeing client relations and operations for portfolio companies, Cover Communications, Ian Reid, and HP Global Advisors.
BUSINESS
Black Business Registrations Increase During COVID Pandemic By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Correspondent
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everal states have shown that the number of registered businesses has “more than doubled” according to analysis by the New York Times. In the month after the CARES Act was passed by Congress in March 2020, business registrations increased by 60 percent. Though the economic downturn caused by the COVID pandemic is likely to damage entrepreneurship and put many small businesses in a financial hole or out of business
entirely, there are signs that many have turned to creating businesses after losing employment elsewhere. Andre Perry, a Brookings Institution fellow, told the Times that some of the surge in Black business registrations could be a signal of personal
economic trouble. “This is more about survival than it is about wealth creation. There’s lots of people who have lost their jobs and lost their businesses. People are starting to realize that side hustles are businesses,” Perry said. Additionally, Google Trends data reported an “uptick in searches related to Black-owned businesses” in June of last year during the start of the pandemic. According to Google Trends data, searches for “How to find black owned businesses in your area” saw a 300% spike and searches for “Black owned restaurants near me” tripled. An app that is a guide to Black owned restaurants, called
Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication
EatOkra, witnessed a 4,450% increase in downloads of new users in May 2020. Many believe that activism after the murder of George Floyd coupled with the COVID19 pandemic spurred manny to think about economic activism and Black owned businesses. Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@ gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke Source: NNPA
