The 75 most powerful African Americans in corporate America: meet 75 executives who hold tremendous clout in the world of business, including the 18 who earned CEO positions

Black Enterprise, Feb, 2005 by Kenneth Meeks

Paget L. Alves

President, Sprint Business Solutions

Sprint Corp.

Age: 47

Alves is responsible for the SBS strategic segment, which concentrates on Sprint's 100 largest business customers, systems integrators, international customers, access and wholesale carriers, and cable ventures. Between 1996 and 2000, Atves held several senior management positions with Sprint. He served as president of sales and support for the Business Services Group, where he was responsible for all business and government customers of Sprint's long-distance division. He left Sprint briefly in June 2000 to become president and chief executive officer of PointOne Telecommunications, an Internet-telephony services provider located in Austin, Texas. Alves assumed his current position in November 2003. He also appeared on BE's 2000 list of The Top 50 Blacks in Corporate America.

Brian P. Anderson

CFO & Executive Vice President of Finance

OfficeMax Inc.

Age: 53

A corporate finance maven, Anderson has a key leadership role in the corporate strategies and execution of the $8.2 billion business. In 2003, Boise Cascade purchased OfficeMax supply superstores. Then in October 2004, the company sold off $3.7 billion worth of its paper, forest products, and timberlands assets, creating a new company called OfficeMax Inc. Prior to joining the company, Anderson was senior vice president and CFO of Baxter International. Now Anderson helps OfficeMax develop strategies that will grow market share and fend off competitors such as Staples and Coup USA. The CPA holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University and sits on the board of directors of WW Grainger, where he chairs its audit committee. Anderson was the inaugural recipient of the chief financial officer of the year award from the Chicago chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute.

D. Steve Boland

President & Managig Director, LandSafe Inc.

Countrywide Financial Corp.

Age: 36

A 15-year veteran of the mortgage banking industry, Roland joined Countrywide in 1997 as first vice president and director of Fair Lending and House America. In 1998, he was promoted to regional vice president in the consumer markets division. The following year, LandSafe Inc. became a new subsidiary of the company, offering a full range of real estate information and closing services to its parent company and lenders nationwide. Today, Roland is president and managing director of its four business units, a position he assumed in April 2004. In 200I, LandSafe hit revenues of $129 million. Roland, who holds a bachelor's from Northwestern University, was the former vice president and national director of the affordable lending division for Fleet Mortgage Group.

James A. Bell

Chief Financial Officer

Boeing

Age: 55

Since January 2004, Bell has been the top numbers man at the $54 billion aerospace and defense company. A 32-year veteran of corporate finance, Bell came to Boeing when the company purchased Rockwell International Corp.'s aerospace and defense units in 1996. He joined Rockwell as an accountant in 1972 and climbed the ladder to executive positions in auditing, program management, and finance. After Rockwell was acquired, Bell became vice president of contracts and pricing at former Rockwell units in Southern California. In 2000, he was named senior vice president of finance and corporate controller, the No. 2 financial management position. He's proven himself a skilled manager who has intimate knowledge of Boeing's strategy.