Benaree “Bennie” Pratt Wiley’s career exemplifies leadership rooted in both strategy and purpose, making her appearance at the 2026 BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit especially fitting.
The veteran corporate director and trustee, who currently serves as director on the boards of the BNY Mellon Mutual Funds and CBIZ, is among the powerhouse speaker lineup at the 20th anniversary of the Women of Power Summit. Bennie brings over five decades of expert-level experience in business leadership and a reputation as a trusted voice in boardrooms where governance, risk, and long-term value creation matter most.
Building her career in entrepreneurship and management consulting, Bennie is best known for her 15-year tenure as president and CEO of The Partnership, Inc., where she helped strengthen Greater Boston’s pipeline for professionals of color. Her leadership supported more than 1,300 Black professionals and expanded access across 200 corporate partners. In 2023, she was appointed by the Biden-Harris administration to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.
Her leadership across major institutions has placed her at the center of decisions shaping markets, investor protection, and corporate accountability. She has served as chair of PepsiCo’s African American Advisory Board and previously sat on the boards of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and First Albany. Her civic leadership includes board service with Dress for Success Boston, Spaulding Hospital, and the Black Economic Alliance, as well as her alma mater, Howard University, where she served as vice chair. In 2022, the National Association of Corporate Directors New England named Bennie its Nonprofit Director of the Year.
With deep experience in regulatory oversight, fiduciary governance, and organizational strategy, Bennie, whose sister Sharon Pratt Kelly served as the mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1991-1995, has become a highly sought-after advisor in high-stakes leadership spaces. Her honors include four honorary doctorates, induction into the Academy of Distinguished Bostonians, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Pinnacle Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Myra Kraft Leadership Award from the National Association of Corporate Directors, and Harvard Business School’s Distinguished Alumni Award from the African American Student Union.
She has also been featured on the cover of Boston magazine as one of the city’s most powerful women, profiled in a Harvard Business School case study, and, alongside her husband, honored with a playground dedication at the Crispus Attucks Children’s Center for two decades of service.
As one of the first Black women to graduate from Harvard Business School, Bennie’s legacy continues through her family’s work expanding economic opportunity in the Black community. Her son, Pratt, a corporate attorney and former National Director of Voter Expansion under President Obama, now serves as president and CEO of The Partnership, while her daughter, B.J., is a venture-backed entrepreneur and founder and CEO of SoHookd, an enterprise wellness platform. Together, Bennie and B.J. also made history as the first African American mother–daughter graduates of Harvard Business School, reflecting a multigenerational commitment to leadership, innovation, and impact.
As Bennie takes to the Women of Power stage, her five-decade career as a real-life woman of power comes full circle as her presence underscores the summit’s mission to bridge inspiration with access and show attendees what leadership looks like at the highest levels of corporate America.
RELATED CONTENT: Women Of Power 2026
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