Charles DeBow

CEO

Mr. Charles H. DeBow, III is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The National Black Chamber of Commerce® (NBCC). Over the past 20 years he has gained extensive experience working in every department of the NBCC. Joining the team in November of 1999 as the liaison to the NBCC Global Federation of Chambers in North/Central/South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. This began the NBCC’s evolution as a global advocate on behalf of Black businesses. The National Black Chamber of Commerce® is dedicated to economically empowering, sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship, capitalistic activity within the United States, and via interaction with the Black Diaspora.
Mr. DeBow has focused work on the unconventional challenges confronting African American small businesses, advocacy, and opportunities, along with the operational challenges of non-profit organizations.
Charles H. DeBow, III is the older brother of NBCC CO-Founder Kay DeBow Alford, and brother-in-law of CO-Founder Harry C. Alford. Charles H. DeBow is a name in military history. As the grandson of Charles DeBow, a Buffalo Soldier, and the son of Charles H. DeBow, Jr, a graduate of the first training class of 1942, from the Tuskegee Army Airfield, certifying him as an original Tuskegee Airman. Mr. DeBow is a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business. He has spent over 13 years in various capacities with CBS Records and 10 years as a marketing consultant developing marketing campaigns for clients such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Janet Jackson, Sade, Earth, Wind & Fire, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass, and others. The music industry experience provided a foundation for a legacy based on consumer marketing.
In 2023, The National Black Chamber of Commerce® will celebrate its 30th year of service to Black communities. The passing of our founders finds us in deep retrospection of who we are, what kind of organization we have become, who are the people we serve, how we conduct business, and the incumbency of legacy. The entire leadership team of the NBCC commits to complete dedication to maintaining the impeccable standards we inherited.
Today the NBCC is rededicating our core values to developing solutions supporting commerce in the post Covid Economic Crisis for Black Communities. We strive for entrepreneurial diversity with contracting, infrastructure development, ITC, housing, energy, agri-business, cannabis, manufacturing, and natural resources with emphasis on socially responsible and inclusive practices globally.
Welcome to the next chapter of greatness!
cdebow@nationalbcc.org
www.nationalbcc.org About the National Black Chamber of Commerce: Empowering the Black Business Community for 30 Years, the National
Black Chamber of Commerce® is the largest Black business association in the world and is dedicated to economically
empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the
United States. Headquartered in Washington, DC, NBCC was founded in 1992 by Harry Alford and Kay DeBow. Today the
organization has 200+ chambers across 40 states and 50 nations.