By Diane Ducca

Oprah Winfrey may be an American Icon, and yes, she is certainly the queen at marketing herself when it comes to a being a household name in American Culture, but she is only one of the many successful African-American women in business today. Successful African-American women hold key positions in many incredibly high-profile businesses, and yet their names are not one-word monikers, such as “Oprah.” Are these women less interested in marketing themselves than Oprah, or are they marketing themselves in a different manner?

There has been an incredible shift in the business world with regard to positions that Black women are holding. Although these women are not household names from a marketing standpoint, the companies for whom they work certainly are. Surely, you’ve heard of Xerox, Ralph Lauren, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, the Rams, the Cardinals? Now meet the powerful women who help run some of the most highly recognized corporations in America.

* Ursula Burns, CEO and President of Xerox.

Ursula grew up in the projects of Delancy St., in New York and started her career with Xerox in 1980. In 2000, she was recruited for the position of Vice President of Corporate Strategic Services and took on a bigger role in product development and marketing. In 2007, she was named President of Xerox, and in 2009 was named Chief Executive Officer.

* Amy Ellis-Simon, Managing Director Merrill Lynch

Amy began her career at Merrill Lynch as a college intern in 1994. She is the first African-American woman to be named Managing Director at Merrill Lynch. She is the co-founder of Global Markets and Investment Banking Women’s Leadership Council and Three Sisters Scholarship Foundation.

* Ardrian E. Bracy, currently the CEO of the St. Louis YWCA, formerly Controller for the Miami Dolphins

Quite frankly, Adrian’s career has been so successful, she could use her own page! She was formerly the CEO of the Arizona Cardinals and has in excess of 20 years of various senior management finance experience with the Miami Dolphins/Joe Robbins Stadium, and the St. Louis Rams. She has earned many prestigious awards, which include the African-American Women of Distinction Award and Black Enterprise 50 Most Powerful Black Women in Business awards.

* Edith Cooper, Head of North American Hedge Fund Distribution, Goldman Sachs

Edith started her career at Goldman Sachs in 1996. In 1998, she was named Managing Director and in 2000, she became a partner at Goldman Sachs. Growing up in Manhattan, her aspirations included owning a fashion boutique on Madison Ave. She had her first child at 17 and says “My career started to progress when I had my first child…This is contrary to what most would believe…” Two more children later and a glass office with a breath-taking view of New York Harbor, she gives work “150%” of what she’s got.

* Tracey Thomas-Travis, CFO, Senior Vice President of Finance, Polo Ralph Lauren

Ending her lucrative career as an executive with the Pepsi Bottling Group, Tracey has been the Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO with Ralph Lauren since 2005. According to figures posted by Forbes.com, compensation paid to Tracey in 2010 totaled in the “seven-figure range.” In terms of financial success, Tracey’s chosen career is way up there!

Obviously, there are far more than just these five African-American women who are successful in business and successful in marketing themselves and their talents. Black women, from small home-based business owners, to Mega Media Tycoons, have been greatly empowered by these success stories. One of the traits of these successful African-American women is that they tend to give back to their communities: they head charities, become mentors, start foundations, and generally do as much as they possibly can to empower other Black women in the pursuit of success.

Who knows when and where the next successful African-American businesswoman will emerge?

Are you interested in starting your own legitimate work-from-home business?

Would you like some practical information on how to market and promote a business or idea that you currently have?

Are you ready to become the next business success story in America?

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