Randal Pinkett's interview on Newark Small Business Summit Jan 14, 2015

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• published: 03 Mar 2015
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Randal D. Pinkett is a business consultant who in 2005 was the winner of season four of the reality television show, The Apprentice. Pinkett was the first African American to win the US version of The Apprentice. Dr. Randal Pinkett has established himself as an entrepreneur, speaker, author, scholar and community servant. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, a multimillion dollar management, technology and policy consulting firm based in Newark, NJ. BCT Partners works with corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the areas of housing and community development, economic development, human services, government, healthcare and education. A partial list of BCT's clients includes: Johnson & Johnson, Ford Foundation, Pfizer, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hewlett-Packard, Annie E. Casey Foundation and Microsoft. Prior to founding BCT Partners, Dr. Pinkett obtained corporate experience as a Member of Technical Staff at General Electric, AT&T; Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies. A "serial entrepreneur", he also previously launched four socially responsible business ventures. First, Dr. Pinkett co-founded MBS Enterprises, selling compact discs and cassette tapes out of his dormitory in college and using the proceeds to fund high school outreach activities. MBS later evolved into his second venture, MBS Educational Services & Training, a firm committed to providing the highest caliber training and development for emerging and seasoned professionals. MBS's past clients include General Motors, the United Negro College Fund, Exxon, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), Merck & Company, Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, Johnson & Johnson, PNC Bank, Citigroup and Corning Incorporated. Third, Dr. Pinkett co-founded the Inner City Consulting Group, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm that specialized in the unique needs of inner city communities. Fourth, in affiliation with One Economy, Dr. Pinkett co-founded Access One Corporation, with a mission to ensure that affordable housing was equipped for the 21st century by implementing innovative, sustainable, broadband network and telecommunications solutions. BCT Partners represents his fifth and latest business venture, whereas across all five of his companies and to this day, Dr. Pinkett has maintained a relationship as business partners with his close friends and college classmates, Mr. Lawrence Hibbert, BCT's Chief President; Mr. Dallas Grundy, former BCT Chief Operating Officer; and Dr. Jeffrey Robinson, Chair of BCT's Advisory Board and Professor at New York University (NYU). A sought after public speaker for corporate, youth and community groups, Dr. Pinkett has been featured on nationally televised programs such as The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, and CNN, as well as featured in Parade magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. He was the Season 4 Winner of NBC's hit reality television The Apprentice with Donald Trump. He served as an executive with Trump Entertainment Resorts in Atlantic City, NJ, where he was responsible for overseeing both renovation and information technology projects. He has re-appeared on The Apprentice as a boardroom advisor and is a regular segment host for CEO EXCHANGE on PBS. He is a Leadership New Jersey (LNJ) Fellow, a Next Generation Leadership (NGL) Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation, and is a recipient of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Graduate Fellowship, Lucent Technologies Cooperative Research Fellowship Program (CRFP), University of Oxford Graduate Scholarship, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) National Member of the Year, Top 20 Scholars by USA TODAY newspaper, NCAA Academic All-American, NCAA Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship, New Jersey Martin Luther King Commemorative Commission Triumph Award, and the MIT Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, from among a host of other recognition's and accolades. He is a proud brand ambassador for Verizon Communications, Outback Steakhouse, and the Miller Urban Entrepreneurs Series.