(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ESSENCE, the number one media, technology and commerce company dedicated to Black women, announces addition of Square CEO Jack Dorsey to its first Annual Global Black Economic Forum. He will join a consortium of today’s most seasoned business moguls and inspiring entrepreneurs who will gather at the event, taking place Friday July 5th and Saturday July 6th at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in New Orleans during the 25th Anniversary ESSENCE Festival.

The mission of the highly-anticipated event will be to illuminate the road ahead towards building economic empowerment and generational wealth within the Black diaspora globally. Sponsors of the Global Black Economic Forum are Disney, Facebook and Walmart.

"ESSENCE® is proud to announce the Global Black Economic Forum, set to empower and ignite Black entrepreneurs and business executives everywhere,” said ESSENCE Chief Executive Officer Michelle Ebanks. “With the inception of this forum, we are bringing together the best and the brightest to sit before our community and have a much-needed discussion on leveraging globalization trends and building generational wealth within our communities.”

Event highlights include: panel discussions with today’s leading cultural, societal and economic voices to address the state of the Black economy; conversations with today’s most innovative globalization and technology leaders; networking among corporate executives, business moguls, venture capitalists and more.

Previously announced Global Economic Forum speakers scheduled to attend include: TDJ Enterprises CEO and Bishop T.D. Jakes, Founder and President of the National Action Network Reverend Al Sharpton, Mayor of Gary, Indiana Karen Freeman Wilson, President and Founder of The Raben Group Robert Raben, Chief Executive of CHASE consumer banking Thasunda Duckett, Co-Founder of Andreessen Horowitz Ben Horowitz, Founder of LISNR Rodney Williams, Director and Producer Sidra Smith, President of the National Urban League Marc. H Morial, Managing Director of Double Impact at Bain Capital Greg Shell, Chief Executive Officer of Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson and more. Topics will span from roundtables with CEO’s, global leadership throughout the diaspora, leveraging our culture for economic advantage, criminal justice reform, political policies to drive economic change and more.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit essencefestival.com/gbef.

About Essence Communications Inc.

Essence Communications is the number one media, technology and commerce company dedicated to Black women and inspires a global audience of more than 24 million through diverse storytelling and immersive original content. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, experiential and online, ESSENCE encompasses its signature magazine; digital, video and social platforms; television specials; books; as well as live events, including Black Women in Music, Black Women in Hollywood, Street Style and the ESSENCE Festival. Essence Communications is owned by Essence Ventures, an independent Black-owned, technology-driven company focused on merging content, community and commerce to meet the evolving cultural and lifestyle needs of people of color.

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