XCEL Summit For Men Oct 2026

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20-time Grammy Award-winning artist, songwriter, producer, and music icon

Kirk Franklin is a 20-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, songwriter, producer, and music icon. For over three decades, he has been a transformative force in contemporary Gospel music, blending Gospel, R&B, Hip-Hop, and Pop into a sound that resonates across generations. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative figures in modern music, Franklin continues to expand the reach of Gospel while redefining its place in mainstream culture.

In October 2023, Franklin released his critically acclaimed album Father’s Day (Fo Yo Soul/RCA), featuring the #1 hit single “All Things,” which earned him his 20th GRAMMY Award at the 2024 ceremony for Best Gospel Performance/Song. In 2025, he followed up with the powerful new single “Do It Again,” which reached #1 on the Gospel charts and further affirmed his ability to deliver both timely and timeless messages through music.

Franklin recently received the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2025 BET Awards, recognizing his decades-long influence across music, culture, and entertainment. He also debuted the original series Den of Kings, a bold and compelling platform that explores faith, leadership, and personal growth. The series quickly gained traction, surpassing 1 million views in less than a week and marking a significant moment in faith-based storytelling.

Beyond the studio and stage, Franklin headlined The Reunion Tour 2.0, bringing together Gospel greats including Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, The Clark Sisters, Marvin Sapp, and Kierra Sheard-Kelly. His ability to bridge generations and genres is reflected in collaborations with artists such as Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, and Demi Lovato, extending the message of Gospel music to audiences around the world.

Franklin remains committed to developing the next generation of talent and uplifting communities. Through initiatives like Camp Lotus, he mentors aspiring artists and creatives, while also supporting organizations such as Compassion International and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. His SiriusXM channel, Kirk Franklin’s Praise, and his work as an executive producer across television and film, including Kingdom Business on BET and Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas on Lifetime, highlight his continued impact across multiple platforms.

Kirk Franklin continues to stand as a trailblazer whose influence reaches far beyond music. Whether performing, creating, or mentoring, he inspires millions with a message grounded in faith, love, and resilience.

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Founder and Chairman,
The RLJ Companies

Robert L. Johnson is the Founder and Chairman of The RLJ Companies, LLC, an innovative business network, and owns or holds interests in businesses operating in hotel real estate, 401k financial management services, automobile dealerships, digital gaming, sports betting, and Italian menswear clothing.

Prior to forming The RLJ Companies, Mr. Johnson was founder and chairman of Black Entertainment Television (BET), the nation’s first Black-owned cable TV network.

In 1991 Johnson took BET public, making the network the first African American company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2011, Johnson took RLJ Lodging Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT), public. In 2012, RLJ Entertainment, Inc., a streaming services company, marked the third time Johnson successfully took a company public.

Mr. Johnson serves on the following boards: RLJ Lodging Trust; The Business Council; and Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mr. Johnson holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies from the University of Illinois.

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Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner,
Vesalius Ventures

Dr. Harris is currently CEO & Managing Partner of Vesalius Ventures, Inc., a venture capital firm that invests in early to mid-stage Healthcare technologies and companies. He is responsible for managing a portfolio of private assets of early and mid-stage venture investments and operating companies.

He served as CEO and Executive Director, National Math & Science Initiative and led the organization’s efforts to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement in communities across the country. He has been involved in math and science education for over 25 years through his philanthropy as founder of the Harris Institute & Foundation.

Dr. Harris was at NASA for ten years, where he conducted research in musculoskeletal physiology and clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed in-flight medical devices to extend Astronaut stays in space. A veteran astronaut for over thirty years, he has logged more than 438 hours and traveled over 7.2 million miles in space.

He is a member of the Board of Directors for Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), MassMutual, Solventum (NYSE: SOLV), and U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE: USPH). Dr. Harris served as a Board of Director/Trustee for Salient Midstream & MLP Fund and Salient MF Trust, and Barings Fund & BBDC. In addition, he is on the nonprofit Boards of the Texas Medical Center (past Chair), Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, STEMNext and the Harris Institute & Foundation.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Houston, a Master of Medical Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Houston, and a Doctorate of Medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, a National Research Council Fellowship in Endocrinology at the NASA Ames Research Center, and trained as a Flight Surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base. He is also a licensed private pilot and certified scuba diver.

Dr. Harris is the recipient of numerous awards, including nine honorary doctorates, NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Award of Merit, National Space Grant Distinguished Services Award, James Bryant Conant Award, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the American Telemedicine Association, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the recipient of the 2000 Horatio Alger Award and 2024 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. In May 2025, Dr. Harris was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

He is the author of “Dream Walker: A Journey of Achievement and Inspiration” 2010 and “Embracing Infinite Possibilities: Letting Go Of Fear To Find Your Highest Potential” 2025.

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CEO, Philanthropist, Multi-Media Personality, Executive Producer

Jalen Rose created the blueprint for how athletes catapult professional sports careers into successful corporate and philanthropic empires. Rose burst onto the scene as a member of the “Fab Five” for the University of Michigan, where he was recognized as the leader of a group of freshmen that increased the global popularity and indelibly shifted the cultural impact of basketball and hip-hop. After a successful 13-year NBA career, Jalen is now a CEO, Philanthropist, Multi-Media Personality, Executive Producer, Actor, NY Times Best-Selling Author, and Brand Ambassador, establishing himself as a modern-day Renaissance Man.

As the Co-Founder and CEO of the recently launched Same Page Entertainment, Rose is a driving force for the cultural resurgence of his native Detroit. The Detroit-based multi-media production company develops, produces, finances, and distributes scripted and unscripted film, television and podcasts. Founded alongside Tom Gores, Chairman and Founder of Platinum Equity and owner of the Detroit Pistons, Same Page Entertainment is rooted in building stories that celebrate culture, champion new voices and spark meaningful conversations that bring communities closer together. No stranger to the TV & Film industry, Rose produced the critically acclaimed documentary The Fab Five for ESPN’s 30 for 30 franchise, and the viral “81 Olives” video. As an actor, Jalen has appeared in several projects, including South West High, Running Point, The Cookout 2, BMF, Fresh off the Boat, Just Wright, The Game, and Barbershop.

Long before it became common for active athletes to work in media, Rose broke ground as the first active NBA player to serve as a basketball analyst for his work with The Best Damn Sports Show Period for FOX Sports, and covering the NBA Playoffs for TNT. He later helped launch ESPN’s Get Up as an original host, while contributing as an analyst across SportsCenter and NBA Countdown. Currently a college basketball analyst for TNT Sports and making guest appearances on Inside the NBA, he spent 18 years as a lead analyst for ABC/ESPN – most notably as co-host of the award-winning Jalen & Jacoby podcast, which brought ESPN’s Grantland to the forefront and cemented his status as a top multi-media personality. Rose also expanded into print and audio through a partnership with the New York Post on “Renaissance Man,” a weekly column and podcast series. In addition, he served as a studio analyst with NBC Sports and Peacock during the 2024-25 season as part of Big Ten College Countdown, amid the network’s expanded college basketball coverage. In 2015, Rose released his New York Times bestseller, Got to Give the People What They Want: True Stories and Flagrant Opinions from Center Court, with Crown Archetype.

Selected in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft, Rose played 13 seasons in the NBA where he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2000 and was an instrumental player for the Indiana Pacers reaching the NBA Finals. Despite all of his basketball accolades and cultural impact, Rose has made his biggest contributions off the court founding the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in 2011. The open-enrollment, tuition-free public charter high school located in the Detroit neighborhood where he grew up now serves more than 400 students annually and over 1,000 alumni, with a 95% graduation rate and 100% college and postsecondary acceptance. Rose has consistently centered his work around the city that shaped him, guided by a belief that access, representation and opportunity are inseparable from lasting impact.

Currently a Board Member of the National Basketball Players Association Foundation, Rose’s contributions to society through sports, philanthropy and business have earned him numerous honors, including the NBA’s Bob Lanier Community Impact Award, the National Civil Rights Museum’s Sports Legacy Award, the Inaugural Charter School Trailblazer Award from the National Alliance of Charter Schools, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Mannie Jackson Basketball Human Spirit Award, the University of Michigan’s President’s Medal of Excellence,

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(Captain, U.S. Navy) NASA Astronaut

Victor J. Glover, Jr. was selected as an astronaut in 2013 while serving as a Legislative Fellow in the United States Senate.
He served as pilot of the Crew-1 dragon spacecraft, named Resilience, which flew to the International Space Station,
where he also served as Flight Engineer for Expedition 64/65. Glover most recently served as Pilot of NASA’s Artemis II
mission around the Moon. The crew launched on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket at 6:35 p.m. EDT April 1, 2026,
from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. With 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the
American-built rocket propelled the crew inside the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, to space, delivering it to orbit
with pinpoint accuracy. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space
Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 8:07 p.m. EDT April 10, 2026 off the coast of San Diego, completing
a nearly 10-day journey that took them 252,756 miles from home at their farthest distance from Earth.
The California native earned an undergraduate engineering degree as a two sport athlete, while serving his community.
Glover is a Naval Aviator and was a test pilot in the F/A‐18 Hornet, Super Hornet and EA‐18G Growler. He and his family
have been stationed in many locations in the United States and Japan and he has deployed in combat and peacetime.