Keynote Speaker

Robert L. Johnson
Founder and CEO, Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Owner, NBA Charlotte Bobcats

Robert L. Johnson is the founder and chief executive officer of Black Entertainment Television (BET), a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and the nation's first and leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience.

Johnson also made history in 2002 by becoming the first African-American majority owner of a major sports franchise - the expansion NBA Charlotte Bobcats, returning professional basketball to the Queen City during the 2004-05 season. Johnson is also the owner of the WNBA Charlotte Sting.

Under Johnson's leadership, BET has enjoyed extraordinary financial and strategic success since its inception in 1980. The BET Network reaches more than 79 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is a dominant consumer brand in the urban marketplace with a diverse group of branded businesses: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African-Americans; BET Digital Networks - BET Jazz, BET Gospel and BET Hip-Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, specializing in a full range of event production services, including event management, venue selection, talent recruitment, sound, lighting and stage production; and BET Books, the nation's leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels under the Arabesque Books label, and publisher of new imprints Sepia and New Spirit.

In 2000, Johnson sold BET to Viacom for approximately $3 billion and signed a multi-year contract to continue to serve as chief executive officer. This all-stock transaction made Johnson the second largest individual shareholder in Viacom to its chairman, Sumner Redstone.

Following the sale of BET, Johnson formed The RLJ Companies. Under The RLJ Companies umbrella, Johnson owns or holds interests in companies operating in the professional sports, hospitality/restaurant, real estate, gaming and recording industries; plus sole ownership of one of the nation's largest and oldest collections of African American art - the Barnett-Aden Collection.

From 1976 to 1979, Johnson served as vice president of government relations for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), a trade association representing the cable television industry. Prior to joining the NCTA, Johnson was press secretary for the Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy, Congressional Delegate from the District of Columbia.

Johnson was recently ranked #1 on Sports Illustrated magazine's listing of the “100 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.” Other major awards and recognitions received by Johnson include his 2004 induction in the Cable Television Hall of Fame; a 1997 Broadcasting & Cable Magazine's Hall of Fame Award; Cablevision Magazine's 20/20 Vision Award which lists him as one of the 20 Most Influential People in the cable industry; an NAACP Image Award; and the National Women's Political Caucus' “Good Guys” Award.

Johnson serves on the following boards of directors: US Airways, Hilton Hotels, NBA Board of Governors, Jazz at Lincoln Center, American Film Institute, Strayer Education, Inc., Johns Hopkins University and Lowe's Companies. Johnson is also a member of the Board of Governors for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio; and The Grammy Foundation.

Johnson is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.