CBS4A
Our Mission
Advancing the professional success, leadership impact, and collective influence of Columbia Business School alumni of African descent.
CBS4A — the Columbia Business School African American Alumni Association — is an independent nonprofit representing more than 2,600 alumni across five decades of graduating classes. Our members span every industry, career stage, and continent. What unites us is a shared commitment to Black excellence in business and a belief that collective action creates outcomes no individual can achieve alone.
We are not just a social network. We are a professional infrastructure — designed to connect talent with opportunity, capital with founders, mentors with emerging leaders, and established executives with the community that shaped them.
Building community. Advancing careers. Expanding impact.
What We Stand For
Four Pillars
Professional Success
We create pathways for alumni to advance professionally — through mentorship, introductions, career resources, and access to leadership opportunities that move careers forward at every stage.
Leadership Impact
We invest in the development of Black leaders who shape institutions, industries, and communities. CBS4A alumni sit on corporate boards, lead global firms, and hold positions of influence across every sector.
Collective Influence
A network this large and this accomplished has real power when it moves together. We organize around shared priorities — scholarship funding, policy engagement, capital access, and community investment.
Community
We build lasting relationships from the Class of ’73 to today’s students. Convenings, mentorship, and the introductions between them keep every generation of 4A connected to the next.
Our Story
Five Decades of History
Theodora Rutherford becomes the first Black student at Columbia Business School.
BBSA is founded — now the oldest and largest affinity group at CBS.
The 4A Scholarship Fund launches to support BBSA students and advance the school’s diversity initiatives.
The 100/50 Gala brings 300+ alumni together and raises $500K+ for the 4A Scholarship Fund.
4A becomes an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in February 2026 — alumni-owned and alumni-driven.
Join the Network
If you are a Columbia Business School alumni of African descent, CBS4A is your home.
Get Involved