Indianapolis Black History Makers

1. Alice Watson

Alice Watson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Indiana Black Expo, Inc. an organization with 12 chapters in Indiana. As IBE’s President, Alice oversees day-to-day operations and supervises various programs and initiatives as well as Summer Celebration and Circle City Classic®, fundraising events that generate more than $28 million in annual local spending and attract more than 400,000 attendees annually.

Immediately preceding her presidency, Alice served as the Sr. Vice President of Operations of IBE where she oversaw all departments of the organization, including finance, operations, human resources, marketing, chapter development, volunteer administration and youth and family programs for more than 11 years. Prior to joining IBE, Alice served as the former Deputy Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration, Minority and Women-owned Businesses Enterprise Division where she was responsible for overseeing the state’s certification of minority and woman-owned businesses and the utilization of those businesses on state contracts. Under Alice’s direction, the division achieved significant increases in MBE/WBE participation goals, improved reporting processes, conducted the largest disparity study in the history of the state, and for the first time secured a pay-audit system to formally track prime vendor’s payments to MBE/WBE businesses. 

Alice has also held several managerial and sales positions, including positions at Prima Technology, a major Chinese global manufacturer located in Seattle, Washington, and Thomson Consumer Electronics at the National Account level. While at both companies, she was responsible for developing strategies to maintain business in a competitive market by leveraging expertise in advertising and marketing, and financial planning.

Alice received her degree in Criminal Justice from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.

Alice currently serves as a board member on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, City of Indianapolis Equal Employment Opportunity and Contract Compliance, 2024 NBA All-Star, Equity 1821 and GEO Academies.  Alice is also a steering committee member of the African American Coalition of Indianapolis. She is a former member of the Indianapolis Advisory Council and Global Business Development Coalition

Indianapolis Black History Makers was originally published on hot1009.com