Leadership Team
Sumi James-Black
Interim CEO, President
& Chief Operating Officer
Sumi James-Black brings over 28 years of experience as a diversity champion, a corporate leader and a highly regarded manager. As the Interim CEO, President & COO of HERO BX and Erie Management Group, James-Black is the leader of the overall strategic initiatives encompassing business development, acquisitions, leadership management and company culture. Her prior global experience and achievements as a key leader at Advanced Neuro Dynamics, a leading development and training company with headquarters in Kona, Hawaii, resulted in double-digit growth, while improving employee and customer satisfaction. James-Black also has over six years of experience in facilitating, buying, managing and dealing with international negotiations in high-end boutique retail ventures at the world-renowned Ala Moana Center and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, both in Honolulu, Hawaii. James-Black’s key competencies are strategic management, talent development, sales and marketing with a strong commitment to client and employee satisfaction. James-Black is sought after for her numerous successful endeavors in coaching business professionals to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Most importantly, she is a champion for diversity as she has pioneered new organizational models that have proven to be a standard of excellence in industry.
Sumi lived most of her life in Hawaii, and moved to the mainland in 2015 to take a direct role in the existing Black family businesses while supporting her father’s entrepreneurial efforts to continue to grow Erie’s manufacturing base.
