by Jeroslyn JoVonn
October 9, 2025
Richelieu Dennis is alleging mismanagement by the Group Black board, together with a fellow co-founder, and is asking for the elimination of all members.
Richelieu Dennis, co-founder of the Group Black advert agency, has drawn consideration to the corporate after calling for the total board’s elimination amid allegations of overspending and mismanagement.
The bombshell allegations got here to mild on Oct. 6, when Dennis despatched a letter to the board demanding the elimination of all 5 members, together with Group Black co-founder Bonin Bough, accusing them of monetary and structural mismanagement, Enterprise Insider experiences. Within the letter, Dennis expressed “critical considerations” concerning the alleged “wrongdoing and breach of fiduciary obligation” by the board members.
Citing his 10% stake within the firm, Dennis requested a particular shareholders’ assembly to vote on eradicating the board. The transfer comes greater than a yr after the entrepreneur and founding father of SheaMoisture and Sundial stepped down from the Group Black board in August 2024.
Launched in 2021 within the wake of the George Floyd protests, Group Black was created to channel promoting {dollars} to Black-owned shops. In his letter, Dennis accused the agency of creating “exorbitant expenditures not fairly related to the corporate’s operations” whereas neglecting funds to unnamed distributors and enterprise companions. He additionally claimed that board members employed legal professionals in a “wasteful try to plan frivolous defenses” over fee disputes and did not appoint administrators able to correctly overseeing the corporate.
Tensions inside Group Black seemed to be mounting following lawsuits from Essence Communications and Afropunk Worldwide in October 2024, alleging that the agency owed them roughly $20 million and misused the funds to profit the agency and Holler, a messaging startup based by former CEO Travis Montaque. In current months, two firms underneath Dennis’s Sundial Media and Expertise Group have additionally been embroiled in authorized disputes with Group Black.
Group Black has responded to Dennis’s allegations, labeling them as “false and defamatory.”
“The allegations in Mr. Dennis’ letter, which the media apparently obtained the identical day he despatched it to Group Black, are categorically false and defamatory,” Group Black stated in an announcement. “The corporate conducts itself with integrity and can proceed to take action. Our focus stays on advancing Group Black’s mission and enterprise on behalf of our crew members and shareholders.”
Over the previous yr, the corporate has grappled with inside turmoil, together with govt departures, most notably Montaque quietly stepping down as CEO in the summertime of 2024, in addition to a number of different executives and board members leaving. In September, the group rebranded to Portrait Media Group to succeed in a broader viewers amid company pullbacks from DEI commitments.
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