Dr. Randal Pinkett has established himself as an entrepreneur, scholar, community servant and leader. He is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of BCT Partners, a multi-million dollar management, technology, and policy consulting firm based in Newark, NJ.
He holds five degrees including a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Rutgers University College of Engineering; a M.S. in computer science from Oxford University and an M.S. in electrical engineering, MBA and Ph.D. from MIT. Most notably, Dr. Pinkett made history as the only African-American from Rutgers University to receive a Rhodes Scholarship.
As an undergraduate, Dr. Pinkett was involved in a variety of activities and received numerous awards including the following: two-term President of MEET, the Rutgers Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers; Captain of the Men’s Track and Field Team, competing as a high jumper and long jumper; James Dickson Carr Scholarship recipient; Cap and Skull Honor Society inductee; Paul Robeson Scholarship recipient; USA TODAY College All-Academic First Team member and NCAA Academic All-American.
Prior to founding BCT Partners, Dr. Pinkett gained corporate experience as a Member of Technical Staff at GE, AT&T and Lucent, and also launched his first venture, MBS Educational Services & Training. He has been featured in Black Enterprise and Eb ony magazines, as one of their “30 Leaders Under 30,” as well as in segments on BET and CNN. He is a 2004 Leadership NJ Fellow, a 2003 Next Generation Leadership Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation, and is a recipient of the NJ Martin Luther King, Jr. Triumph Award, among a host of other recognitions.
Dr. Pinkett maintains an active involvement in helping to address issues facing communities of color frequently speaks to youth and community groups. His doctoral dissertation at MIT examined the role of high technology in improving the quality of life for low-income residents. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the NJ Public Policy Research Institute, the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network and the Institute for Innovation in Government Technology. He is currently co-authoring a book with fellow Rutgers alumni, Jeffrey Robsinson and Sakina Spruell-Cole, tentatively entitled Black Faces in White Places that will chronicle their experiences as African Americans who were educated in predominantly white institutions.
Dr. Pinkett was born in Philadelphia to Elizabeth Pinkett and the late Leslie Pinkett. He was raised in Hightstown, NJ with his brother Dan, who is also a Rutgers graduate. He currently lives in Somerset, NJ where he is happily married to Zahara Wadud-Pinkett, a Senior Alumni Relations Officer at Rutgers University. Dr. Pinkett is a proud member of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and firmly believes that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”
College of Engineering 1994, Rhodes Scholar, Entrepreneur and winner of season 4 of The Apprentice