After working in the capacity of Managing Director of the New York office for V. Brown & Co., Horace was able to gain significant additional knowledge and experience. His dedication to his clients and desire to show them the importance of smart business and money management led him to start his own business management firm. He partnered with Solomon Smallwood, the former Managing Director of V. Brown & Co. Atlanta office, who was also looking to venture out on his own. Together , in 2000, they founded Madison Smallwood Financial Group. 7 years later, MadisonSmallwood has grown to one of the most recognizable and respected Business Management firms in the industry. Most impressively they have expanded their client base way beyond music, to sports, entertainment and small businesses.
Ivan Berry
Michie Mee… Dream Warriors… Keshia Chanté… Tom Green… Glenn Lewis… Wyclef... These artists have all benefited from Ivan Berry’s guidance.
Berry is a winner and he works with winners. The artists he’s worked with have sold millions of records worldwide and have collected countless industry honours, including JUNO awards (Canada’s Grammy equivalent), SOCAN Awards, Much Music Video
Awards, Canadian Urban Music Awards and a number of certified Gold & Platinum plaques.
Throughout his career as an entrepreneur, artist manager, record label owner, talent development executive and music publisher, Berry has been a trailblazer, and a model of consistency and success.
Through his management company, iB Entertainment, Berry currently counts rising R&B
star Keshia Chanté, songwriter Rupert Gayle, Pop/Rock singer/songwriter Alonzo and
pioneering Hip-Hop group Dream Warriors among his roster of artists. In summer 2006, he began blazing a new trail in the world of music publishing when he launched his co-venture with ole, a global destination for world-class songwriters, composers and management talent. In this partnership, Berry acquires urban song catalogues and develops urban songwriters, which is an evolution of the role that he played as role’s Senior Partner International since late-2004.
A proud native of St. Kitts, Berry is actively involved in the development of the music
business infrastructure across the Caribbean. Berry is co-creator of the annual St. Kitts
Music Festival, which takes place each June and has attracted international superstars
such as Kool & The Gang, Chaka Khan, Ludacris, DMX, Hugh Masekela, Boyz II Men
and many more….
Dr. Denise-Margaret Thompson
Professor, Centre for Innovation, Development, Enterprise and Strategy
Dr. Denise-Margaret Thompson is the Programme Professor in the Center for Innovation, Development, Enterprise and Strategy, C-IDEAS, having previously served as an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Norfolk State University, VA and Associate Director of its Entrepreneurship Center. She was Marketing Editor for NSU’s Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship; a Founding Member of the Virginia Consortium for International Development; a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce MBDA Minority Enterprise Development National Planning Committee; and represented NSU on the boards of directors for the Hampton Roads Technology Incubator and the Virginia Business Incubation Association. Her teaching and applied research areas include technology entrepreneurship in underserved communities and creativity and innovation management.
Professional Areas of Expertise
- Business incubation and support network
- Technology or engineering entrepreneurship education and curricula
- Economic development and entrepreneurship
- Creativity and Innovation Management
