Byron Lewis
Founder & CEO, UniWorld Group
Founder & CEO, UniWorld Group
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Byron E. Lewis Sr. can be noted as one of the Founding Fathers of multicultural marketing. He served as Founder of UniWorld Group Inc. the nation’s oldest surviving Black advertising agency. During his 43 years at UWG, the agency won over 100 advertising awards. By 1996, Lewis’ agency had billings of more than $133 million and provided a full range of in-house services. Under his leadership, the agency operated from offices in New York City, Washington DC, Detroit, Miami, and Brooklyn. He worked with a full-time staff of over 100 and is proud to have hired over 1000 employees, vendors and freelancers by the time he retired in 2012. UWG celebrated its 51st anniversary in 2012. Lewis currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of UWG.
Following UniWorld’s initial success, he expanded the agency and created UniWorld Entertainment in 1977, UniWorld Hispanic (Unimundo) in 1980, and UniWorld Healthcare in 2002. UniWorld’s clients have included AT&T, Avon Products, Burger King, Colgate Palmolive, Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Co., Mars Candy, Stax Record Shaft film series, and the United States Marine Corps. Lewis also worked on the Black Political Summit in 1972, Kenneth Gibson’s mayoral campaign in 1971, and Reverend Jesse Jackson’s first presidential campaign in 1984. He created and produced a number of national media productions, including Sounds of the City, a Black radio serial; America’s Black Forum; and This Far By Faith, a PBS film. Lewis also founded the American Black Film Festival, formerly known as the Acapulco Black Film Festival. Lewis also co-founded two short-lived Black magazines (The Urbanite and Tuesday Magazine) when Ebony Magazine was the only major player for Black audiences.
Following UniWorld’s initial success, he expanded the agency and created UniWorld Entertainment in 1977, UniWorld Hispanic (Unimundo) in 1980, and UniWorld Healthcare in 2002. UniWorld’s clients have included AT&T, Avon Products, Burger King, Colgate Palmolive, Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Co., Mars Candy, Stax Record Shaft film series, and the United States Marine Corps. Lewis also worked on the Black Political Summit in 1972, Kenneth Gibson’s mayoral campaign in 1971, and Reverend Jesse Jackson’s first presidential campaign in 1984. He created and produced a number of national media productions, including Sounds of the City, a Black radio serial; America’s Black Forum; and This Far By Faith, a PBS film. Lewis also founded the American Black Film Festival, formerly known as the Acapulco Black Film Festival. Lewis also co-founded two short-lived Black magazines (The Urbanite and Tuesday Magazine) when Ebony Magazine was the only major player for Black audiences.
