BET CEO Debra Lee Joins Twitter's Board of Directors

Debra Lee, BET's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will join Twitter's Board of Directors. The board's Executive Chairman, Omid Kordestani, announced the move today and Lee confirmed.

Welcome @IamDebraLee, @BET chair and CEO, to the @twitter board!

— Omid Kordestani (@omidkordestani) May 16, 2016

Twitter has long come under fire for its lack of diversity in leadership and executive positions despite Black and Latinos accounting for a disproportionate number of the service's users. Engineer Leslie Miley resigned last year citing the company's slow movement of People of Color and women into top roles.

Thrilled to be joining the @twitter board. It's transformed the media and the world like few other things in history (and continues to)!!

— Debra Lee (@IamDebraLee) May 16, 2016

Lee is Twitter's first Black board member. She has been at BET since 1986. She became President and CEO of the network in 2005. During her tenure the network has expanded its offering of scripted shows and added special events like Black Girls Rock!

She joins Peter Chernin, Jack Dorsey, Peter Currie, Peter Fenton, Hugh Johnston, Martha Lane Fox, David Rosenblatt, Marjorie Scardino, and Ev Williams on the board though Chernin and Currie will soon exit their positions.

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