HOUSTON, Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Mathew Knowles, the founder, President and CEO of Music World Entertainment (MWE), has been elected to the Board of Trustees of Fisk University. A 1974 graduate of the Historically Black College based in Nashville, Tennessee, Knowles also will serve on the Board of the General Alumni Association of Fisk University.
The leader of one of the world’s leading music and entertainment
conglomerates, Knowles brings to the board his business and management
expertise, a strong commitment to education and a great enthusiasm for
his alma mater.

Under Knowles
visionary leadership, Music World Entertainment has experienced
tremendous growth and extraordinary success for nearly two decades. He
is widely recognized in the entertainment industry for his innovative
and successful approach to producing and distributing high quality
entertainment and developing and promoting award-winning artists. The
company has had an unprecedented impact on music and entertainment
around the globe.

“Fisk is honored that its alumnus and international businessman Mathew Knowles will join our Board of Trustees,” said Fisk President Hazel R. O’Leary.
“His strategic skills and worldview compliment those of our concurrent
Board Members as we prepare our students for leadership and engagement
in the local and global communities.”

Knowles
welcomes the opportunity to lend his business acumen and leadership
skills to provide policy guidance as part of the Board of Trustees.
 Knowles first honed those skills at Fisk while working toward both a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Science degree in
Business Administration. “I am so honored to have the opportunity to
give back to this university that played such an important role in my
life,” said Knowles. “Fisk offered me more than just a first class
education. It reinforced the belief that if you maintain a commitment to
excellence, work hard and never give up on your dreams; you can be and
do anything that you want, no matter where you start out.”

Knowles’
commitment to encouraging and supporting the aspirations of young people
came out of his own life experience. A self-described “small town
country boy,” Knowles grew up in Gadsden, Alabama
during the 1950s, when the town was segregated. He credits his parents
with instilling both drive and strong family-centered values within him.
Through his parents, he also learned early lessons about the importance
of education and the rewards of being willing to chart a new course for
others to follow. His mother was a strong advocate of desegregation. As
a result he was one of the first African Americans to attend Litchfield
Junior High School, where he and the other black students were escorted
by state troopers through throngs of angry protesters every day. He
also was among the first African Americans to attend Gadsden High School
and the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.
Although he faced many challenges in breaking the color barriers at
these schools, those early experiences as a trailblazer would shape his
approach to his career. He says that he learned that “inside adversity
often lies opportunity” and that one should never give up on a dream.
After graduating from college, he began a career as a sales and
marketing representative for Xerox in Houston, Texas.
He became the top sales executive worldwide before turning his
attention to the music business, where he continues to encourage dreams
and blaze new trails.

In 2008,
Knowles was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters during the University’s
commencement ceremony. At that time he recalled that at Fisk, he was
encouraged not only to work hard, but also to think outside the box and
to imagine a successful future in whatever field he chose to pursue.

“I remember
being at Fisk’s radio station [WFSK 88.1 FM] with a fraternity brother,
David Lombard, and all we did was dream,” Knowles said, noting that
their dreams were about taking the industry by storm by creating and
managing girl groups. “David went on to put together a group called En
Vogue and I put together a group called Destiny’s Child, and it was
because of a dream right here at Fisk University.”  

Lombard managed En Vogue, an award-winning female quartet which, according to Billboard
magazine, was one of the most popular female groups of all time. Under
Knowles leadership and management, Destiny’s Child became a global
phenomenon and the “most successful girl group” in the history of
popular music. In the 1990s, Destiny’s Child was named Billboard
magazine’s Female Group of the Decade. Knowles also successfully
launched and managed the solo careers of the members of Destiny’s Child:
Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland and Beyonce, who was crowned Billboard‘s Top Female Artist of the Decade.

Knowles
continues the tradition of both training students for careers and
encouraging them to dream. He holds a professorship at Texas Southern University,
where he teaches a course on the entertainment industry in the School
of Communications. He also has been a popular guest lecturer at various
colleges and universities throughout the country. In 2010, Knowles
instituted a highly successful and competitive summer internship program
for college students from around the country who are interested in
working in the entertainment field.  The twelve students who were
selected for the program had a unique opportunity to gain hands on
experience in various areas of music entertainment business, including
marketing, new media, A&R, artist development, tour management and
creative. They also met regularly with Knowles in sessions that were
both instructional and inspirational. During this 10-week program at MWE
headquarters in Houston, Texas,
interns not only performed assigned tasks, but they also were challenged
to think creatively and to offer ideas for their projects.  A number of
the students who had earned their degrees in May 2010 were hired by Music World Entertainment at the conclusion of the internship program.

Music World Entertainment