Reginald
F. Lewis was born on December 7, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. Strongly influenced
by his family, he began his career at the age of ten by delivering the local
African-American newspaper. At Dunbar high school, he excelled as a student
and athlete.
He attended Virginia State
University on a football scholarship until he was injured, and was on the dean's
list when he graduated. After college, Lewis attended Harvard Law School. Within
two years after graduation from Harvard, in 1968, he established his own law
firm, Lewis and Clarkson. Their main focus was on corporate law.
In 1983, Lewis formed TLC,
LP., an investment group and acquired The McCall Pattern Company. Under his
leadership, it enjoyed the two most profitable years in its 113 year history.
In 1987, Lewis sold McCall and purchased Beatrice International for 5985 million,
out bidding many of the world's largest corporations.
As chairman and CEO, Lewis
moved quickly to reposition the company as a pan-European food conglomerate
and vastly improved the company's worth. In 1 992, the company had over 51.6
billion in sales, making Lewis one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our
time.
Lewis was also a noted philanthropist.
In 1987, he established the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation which has given more
than 510 million to various organizations around the world. Major grants included:
51 million to Howard University,53 million to Harvard Law School, and a 52 million
endowment to the NAACP's Reginald F. Lewis Fund.
Entrepreneur, philanthropist,
chairman and CEO, Reginald F. Lewis lived his life according to the words he
often spoke to audiences around the country, "Keep going, no matter what!"
