W. Don Cornwell

W. Don Cornwell (born January 17, 1948) is a retired investment banker and broadcast media executive. He was the founder, CEO, and Chairman of Granite Broadcasting, which at the time was the largest television broadcast company controlled by an African-American, from 1988 to his retirement in 2009. Prior to founding Granite Broadcasting, he was at Goldman Sachs for 17 years.

He currently serves on the boards of Pfizer, AIG, and Natura & Co (formerly Avon).

Early life and education Cornwell was born in 1948 in Cushing, Oklahoma.

Career Goldman Sachs After receiving his MBA in 1971, Cornwell worked on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs. He was a vice president of the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs from 1976 to 1988.

Granite Broadcasting In 1988, Cornwell left Goldman Sachs to found Granite Broadcasting, a broadcasting holding company, with co-founder Stuart Beck, a New York attorney. Cornwell became chairman and CEO of the company, and Beck became president. With initial capitalization from Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Companies (MESBICs), Oprah Winfrey, and Goldman Sachs, the company's first acquisitions were television stations in Duluth and Peoria in 1988, followed by stations in Fort Wayne and San Jose in 1989 and 1990. and it traded on the NASDAQ. Its business strategy was to provide high quality local news and sports for each market, and its goal was to become the leading provider of news, weather, and sports information in these markets.

Following the acquisition of more stations, buying them below market value and turning them around, by 1995 Granite's stock had surged and it was the top performing media company in the U.S. it was the seventh-largest black-owned business in the U.S., and the largest minority-owned media company in New York. an advertising recession, and the end of federal tax incentives for minority-owned broadcasting stations. It emerged from restructuring in June 2007 under the majority ownership of private-equity firm Silver Point Capital, previously one of its creditors.

Cornwell retooled Granite by increasing its digitalization and technological innovations,

In August 2009, Cornwell retired as chairman and CEO of Granite, staying on as Vice Chairman through December 2009.

As of 2020, Cornwell is on the boards of directors of Pfizer, AIG, and Natura & Co (formerly Avon). He is also on the board of trustees of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.

Personal life Cornwell married New York attorney Saundra Clarke Williams in 1983. Saundra Cornwell was partner at the law firm Bower & Gardner from 1984 until it dissolved in 1994. They live in New York City and have two adult children.