The Executive Leadership Council to Honor Film Director, Producer, Actor, and Movie Executive Tyler Perry with the 2021 Alvaro L. Martins Heritage Award

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) announced today that it will honor Tyler Perry with the prestigious 2021 Alvaro L. Martins Heritage Award during its virtual 2021 Annual ELC Recognition Gala and 35^th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. EDT and hosted by Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner.

The ELC is recognized as the preeminent global membership organization for Black current and former CEOs, senior executives, and board members of Fortune 1000 and equivalent companies, top-tier entrepreneurs, and global thought leaders. Its Alvaro L. Martins Heritage Award was created in honor of The ELC's founding member and its first president and CEO and recognizes an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions toward supporting the achievement of Black individuals in business.

"The Black business community is exponentially better because of leaders like Tyler Perry, who have shown their commitment to community and the well-being of those in need at such a critical time in our nation's history," said ELC President & CEO Michael C. Hyter. "He has led by example by using every resource at his disposal to uplift, inspire, and empower all those who need it. And for this and so much more, we're proud to give him the 2021 Alvaro L. Martins Heritage Award."

As an award-winning playwright, filmmaker, author and first African American CEO of a major production studio, Perry's body of work over the last two decades has received dozens of accolades, including DGA Honors by the Directors Guild of America, the Chairman's Award at the NAACP Image Awards, Favorite Humanitarian Award and People's Champion's Award at the People's Choice Awards, Ultimate Icon Award at the BET Awards, and the Governor's Award at the 2020 Emmys. Most recently, he received an Honorary Oscar at the 93rd Academy Awards in April 2021 as the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Perry is also known for giving back to communities on a grand scale, with intimate involvement in civil rights causes through work with the NAACP and NAN while also supporting charities that focus on helping the homeless, such as Global Medical Relief Fund, Charity Water, Feeding America, Covenant House, Hosea Feed the Hungry, Project Adventure, and Perry Place - a 20-home community that Perry built for survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, making it just one of Perry's many charitable actions for those who have been displaced by natural disasters in and outside of the United States in recent years.

Additionally, the 35th anniversary celebration will include musical performances by R & B and rap legends Bell Biv DeVoe and Doug E. Fresh, R&B artist Avery*Sunshine and spoken word artist Jon Goode.

The ELC 35^th Anniversary Gala

The Annual Recognition Gala is The ELC's most important fundraising event, supporting its scholarships, educational outreach and philanthropic initiatives and recognizing its mission, purpose and impact in action. Johnson & Johnson is serving as the Lead Sponsor of the 2021 Gala.

This 2021 ELC Gala highlights and honors corporate and individual leaders and will award more than $1.3 million in scholarships to 117 scholars, the majority of whom this year hail from some of the nation's most well-regarded HBCUs and are largely represented by women. The ELC Scholarship Program is part of the organization's broader philanthropic strategy, which includes expanding emphasis on community and making larger investments in new philanthropic programmatic pillars that will ensure increased opportunities for young Black women and men to succeed as business executives.

Ursula Burns, the first Black Woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company, serving Xerox Corporation from 2007-2016, will "pass the torch" by presenting the 2021 Achievement Award to Rosalind Brewer, CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Thasunda Brown Duckett, President and CEO, TIAA, who became the second and third permanent Black women CEOs in the history of the Fortune 500 earlier this year. The Achievement Award is presented to Black corporate executives whose business career achievements highlight personal and professional excellence.

Additionally, The Executive Leadership Council will be presenting the 2021 Game Changer Award to a surprise honoree for his/her commitment and courage in changing the narrative around social justice issues in America. The Game Changer Award was created to recognize individuals whose achievements transcend traditional roles for Blacks, women as well as other minorities and who represent a new, dynamic vision for how minority leaders globally can impact their communities through political, economic, educational, and philanthropic empowerment and stewardship.

Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan will accept the 2021 Corporate Award on behalf of his organization. This award is given to a corporation that has made significant contributions to the advancement of Black corporate executives in areas including pipeline development, board diversity, supplier diversity and philanthropic efforts directed toward the Black community.

ABOUT THE ELC: The Executive Leadership Council opens channels of opportunity for the development of Black executives to positively impact business and our communities. An independent non-profit 501(c)(3) founded in 1986, The ELC is the pre-eminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global Black executives in C-suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. Comprising more than 800 current and former Black CEOs, senior executives and board directors at Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies and entrepreneurs at top-tier firms, its members work to build an inclusive business leadership pipeline that empowers global Black leaders to make impactful contributions to the marketplace and the global communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.elcinfo.com. Engage during the event on social media: #ELCGALA on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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SOURCE The Executive Leadership Council