Host Alfred Edmond Jr. is senior vice president/editor-at-large of black enterprise. He is a content leader, brand representative and expert resource for all of the media platforms under the black enterprise brand. Edmond is also responsible for helping to set and enforce quality standards for the editorial content of the major franchises of black enterprise, including BlackEnterprise.com; black enterprise magazine; live networking events, such as the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo and the Women of Power Summit; and the Our World with Black Enterprise and Black Enterprise Business Report television shows.

TaQuoya Kennedy is Executive Producer of The Urban Business Roundtable and a thriving entrepreneur. She’s also a writer, editor, and serves as sound engineer for the program. Kennedy was previously Morning News Anchor and News Director for the Talk of Chicago 1690 WVON. She hails from Fairfield, Alabama, but her life in the Air Force landed her in Chicago where she’s well on her way to becoming a media powerhouse. Kennedy earned her Master's Degree in Public Affairs/ Broadcast Journalism from Columbia College. She’s worked with WVON, WCRX and Chicago Public Radio. Kennedy has also been awarded The Abbott Sengstacke Legacy Scholarship for Journalism by the Chicago Defender and the The Richard Steele Scholarship by Chicago Public Radio's Richard Steele. She’s also produced shows for award-winning journalist and CNN contributor Roland Martin.

Khoa X. Ho manages Ariel's Investor Services Team—a group of licensed professionals dedicated to providing mutual fund shareholders with exceptional customer service. Additionally, he is an Ariel spokesperson for financial literacy, frequently speaking in the community about "Investing 101" to educate the public on the fundamentals of mutual fund investing. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Khoa worked at Goldman Sachs as an account analyst and in the Marketing Department at The University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. He is a board member of Vital Bridges, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving those impacted by HIV and AIDS. He earned a BA in biology from the University of Chicago.

Charisse Jones is a veteran reporter and national correspondent for USA Today. She was previously a staff writer for The New York Times, and part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at The Los Angeles Times. She has been a contributor to National Public Radio and Essence magazine, and a guest on  "Good Morning America," the "Today" show, C-Span's "Washington Journal,''  and other national programs. She is also the co-author of "Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America,'' (HarperCollins) winner of the 2004 American Book Award.

Business mogul and best-selling author, Dr. Farrah Gray, was named as one of the most influential Black men in America by the National Urban League's Urban Influence magazine and as an entrepreneurial icon by Ebony magazine. Raised in the impoverished South Side of Chicago, Dr. Gray defied the odds and became a self-made millionaire by the age of 14. At the age of 21, he received an honorary Doctorate degree of Humane Letters from. Allen University. He was also the youngest individual in history to have an office on Wall Street. In his rise from poverty to national and international prominence as a preeminent power speaker, Dr. Gray has inspired millions around the world.

Renita D. Young is a lead contributor for the Urban Business Roundtable who brings a variety of experience including international business news coverage, production, business development, public relations and social media. After graduating with a BA in Communication and English from DePaul University in 2007, Young’s enthusiasm to learn more about the media industry and perfect her craft led her to attend Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism for graduate school. While at Medill, Young worked as a correspondent for the Chicago Journal, UPI.com and FOX News 2 in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. She reported on the 2008 Presidential primaries in Chicago, the 2008 Presidential election in Washington, D.C., then the 2009 Presidential Inauguration while on assignment in Kenya. Young has also worked as a business reporter for Nairobi-based K24TV, Kenya’s first locally-headquartered 24-hour news network.

Professor Rashid Carter, a Chicago native, studied business economics at the University of Illinois at Champaign. After graduating from the U of I in 1997, Carter earned a full fellowship to attend Washington University in St. Louis to earn his Ph.D. in Economics. Carter's research focuses on African-American financial institutions and their role in promoting community development. Carter is currently a professor with the City Colleges of Chicago. He teaches macroeconomics, microeconomics, and social science at Olive-Harvey College.

Professor Derrick Collins serves as the Interim Dean for the College of Business at Chicago State University. Previously, Mr. Collins was Assistant Clinical Professor of Finance at Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg School of Management where he teaches the courses Venture Capital and Private Equity Investing, and Entrepreneurial Finance. . Collins also extends his private equity experience into business practice by serving as a General Partner of the business advisory firm, Hickory Trestle, and private equity advisory firm, Magna Saxum Advisors. Collins has lectured extensively on the topic of venture capital and investing in entrepreneurial companies, including presentations at the Credit Suisse International Business School, the National Football League’s Player Development Program, the National Minority Supplier Development Council’s Advanced Management Education Program, the Chicago Urban League’s NextOne Program, the Wall Street Journal’s Black Entrepreneurship in America Conference, and guest appearances on Chicago’s WGN-TV Minority Business Report.