Magazine lists 50 powerful black women in business
Jerri DeVard, Renatta McCann and Debra L. Lee are among the 50 most powerful black women in U.S. business and will be on Black Enterprise magazine’s February cover, the magazine said Tuesday.
DeVard is Verizon senior vice president of brand management and marketing. McCann is Starcom MediaVest Group’s chief executive, and Lee is chairman, president and CEO of Black Entertainment Television.
“While we’re glad to see our list nearly double since 1991, the fact that there remain few African- American women in the C-suite (chief executive officer, chief financial officer, etc.) shows that corporate America can do much more to help close the gaps,” said Earl “Butch” Graves Jr., the magazine’s president and CEO. “The powerful women on our list … demonstrate that American businesses need contributions from a diverse group to remain a vital, competitive force in the global economy.”
The list includes two chairwomen, 11 CEOs and 13 presidents, representing what the magazine calls the “top echelon” of women in business. The tally was culled from hundreds of candidates across numerous industries. The final 50 have authority over budgets totaling billions of dollars, Black Enterprise said. They range from senior managers of multinational corporations to founders of some of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses.
The issue will be on newsstands Tuesday.
DENVER
City wants more info on Qwest TV request
The tech-services committee of the Denver City Council said Tuesday it wanted more information about Qwest’s plans to bring cable TV to the city before granting the company a franchise agreement.
Qwest is asking the city – and municipalities across the state – to lift requirements that require new entrants to the cable market to make the service available to all neighborhoods.
Qwest officials said they shouldn’t be required to build infrastructure throughout all areas as a new entrant to the marketplace.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE
Adelphia asks to erase $3.5 billion in claims
Adelphia Communications Corp. said Tuesday it is asking a bankruptcy court to erase more than $3.5 billion in claims made against it.
The Greenwood Village-based cable provider, which has been operating under Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York since 2002, announced the move in a regulatory filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The effort is part of an overall strategy by the company to disallow or erase more than $8 billion in claims filed against it during its bankruptcy case.
NEW YORK
United’s status may aid DIA, Moody’s says
United’s emergence from bankruptcy could mark the start of a period of increased credit stability at Denver International Airport, according to a Moody’s Investor Service report.
United’s market share at DIA declined to 59 percent from 69 percent from 2000 to 2004, but the financial stability of the airport “still remains tied very closely to United,” Moody’s said.
The legal status of United’s special-facilities bonds at three airports, including DIA, remain unresolved, creating uncertainty in the municipal bond market, according to Moody’s. Court rulings found that the lease at DIA is a true lease, but it is still under appeal.
DENVER
Quiznos to give away stores for its birthday
As part of its 25th anniversary, Quiznos will give away 12 restaurants throughout 2006. The chain, which started as a single restaurant in Capitol Hill in 1981, has expanded to more than 4,400 locations worldwide.
Quiznos will have a variety of ways for would-be franchisees to vie for one of the restaurants, including in-store sweepstakes, a sub recipe contest and a video contest open for people in search of achieving their American dream of owning a business.
DENVER
Rentech to borrow coal technology
Rentech Inc. of Denver on Tuesday announced it has signed an agreement with DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Houston-based DKRW Energy LLC, for the use of Rentech’s Fisch er-Tropsch coal-to-liquids technology.
Concurrent with the agreement, DKRW-AF’s wholly owned subsidiary Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC has signed an individual site license for its proposed Medicine Bow Project in Medicine Bow, Wyo.
DENVER
Band Marketing buys Groundzero Sports
Denver-based Band Marketing + Partners LLC on Tuesday said it acquired Groundzero Sports Marketing Group of Boulder.
Band Marketing provides marketing for sports and lifestyle events, including the Arby’s Rocky Mountain Half Marathon/Women’s 8K, the College Film Tour and the Colorado Classic Basketball Tournament. BMP president and founder David Perry was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
CHICAGO
United to train pilots for Chinese airline
United Airlines said Tuesday it has signed a contract with a Chinese airline and is finalizing a second one to train pilots on Boeing 757 and Airbus 320 aircraft at United’s Denver flight- training center.
The United Services Flight Training division is the first training provider outside China to receive Civil Aviation Authority of China certification to train China’s airline pilots, according to United. As many as 10,000 new pilots may be needed through 2010 in China, one of the fastest-growing markets for United’s flight training.
HOUSTON
El Paso, Navajo agree on gas line for 2006
El Paso Corp., owner of the largest U.S. network of natural- gas pipelines, reached an interim agreement extending through this year the company’s right to operate a line across Navajo Nation land.
“Substantial controversy” remains between the company and the Navajo Nation as to compensation for a long-term extension of the pipeline right-of-way, Houston-based El Paso said Tuesday in a statement. The agreement will provide more time to negotiate on the 900- mile pipeline, which extends across Arizona and New Mexico, the company said.
