Charles M. Harris II

President of Sports, Sports & Entertainment Financial Group, Atlanta, Age: 39

Charles M. Harris II is the co-founder and president of sports for Sports & Entertainment Financial Group, a business management and financial oversight firm serving top athletes and entertainers. Harris’s financial management skills began to blossom when he agreed to assist a former NFL star and close friend in safeguarding his finances. The Philadelphia native went on to pursue a master’s degree in taxation at Temple University.

Harris earned various licenses and accreditations at Smith Barney and Paine Webber before establishing Athletic Business Management Inc. in 2001. In 2005, ABM merged with Philadelphia-based Gee Financial Group L.L.C. to form Sports & Entertainment Financial Group, a move that brought entertainers into Harris’s client mix. The firm opened an office in Atlanta in April and plans to open another in Los Angeles by 2012.

Harris worked hard to overcome the challenges of being a high-school dropout and growing up in a single-parent household. “There is no blueprint for success coming from the hood. You have to work hard to make your way,” he says. “A dream is simply a plan that you haven’t worked on hard enough.” Anyone can achieve anything he or she desires, he insists, adding that people are limited only by their fear of failure.

Harris describes his mother, Nanette Rowsey, as his source of inspiration and states unequivocally that he is most proud of being a husband and father to his six children.

Quote: "A dream is simply a plan that you haven't worked on hard enough!"

Fun Facts
What actor should play you in a movie: Anthony Anderson
Facebook or LinkedIn: Facebook
Tattoos: Four
Favorite sports team: Temple Owls
Jeans and T-shirt or suit: Jeans and T-shirt
Favorite comedian: Eddie Murphy
Number of countries visited: Seven
Favorite charity: Amateur Athletic Union teams