
Mr. Charles H. DeBow III is the Executive Director of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC). Over the past 20 years, he has gained extensive experience as the liaison to the NBCC Global Federation of Chambers in North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. The NBCC has evolved as a global advocate on behalf of Black businesses. The National Black Chamber of Commerce® is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship, capitalistic activity within the United States, and interaction with the Black Diaspora.
Mr. DeBow has focused on the unconventional challenges confronting African American small businesses, their advocacy, opportunities, and the operational challenges of nonprofit organizations.
He also directs policies, initiatives, and advocacy for public policy concerns and represents the NBCC periodically on congressional sub-committees. He was recently serving as the Co-Chairman of Economic Opportunity of the U.S. State Department’s U.S. – Colombia Action Plan on Racial & Ethnic Equality (CAPREE) – a program conceived to provide solutions for conflict resolution for the Colombian Civil War. As the NBCC’s Executive Director, he is a key representative and advocates for business owners and employers in communities globally.
Charles H. DeBow III is the son of one of the original Tuskegee Airman, Charles H. DeBow, Jr. He is a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business. He has spent over 13 years in various capacities with CBS Records and ten years as a marketing consultant developing campaigns for clients Michael Jackson, Prince, Janet Jackson, Sade, Earth, Wind & Fire, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass, and many more. The music industry experience provided a foundation for a legacy based on consumer marketing.
Today the NBCC is developing solutions to support commerce in the evolving Covid economic crisis for Black Small Businesses. We are striving for entrepreneurial diversity with infrastructure development, ITC, housing, energy, agri-business, cannabis, manufacturing, and natural resources with an emphasis on socially responsive and Diverse, Equitable & Inclusive practices. Mr. DeBow is presently overseeing project development domestically and in Colombia, Canada, Costa Rica, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Kenya.