Best known for discovering global superstar Khalid as a teenager, alumnus Courtney Stewart, founder and CEO of Right Hand Co., Right Hand Foundation and The Network ATL, will serve as the Alabama State University’s Founders’ Day speaker on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.  The event will be aired virtually on Facebook Live.

Stewart discovered Khalid in 2015 and went on to mentor and manage him in 2016. Following Khalid’s breakout success, Stewart was included in Billboard’s “40 Under 40: Music’s Top Young Power Players” in 2017.

Stewart attended North Atlanta High School before selecting Alabama State as his institution of higher learning.  An early friendship with fellow musician Bobby Wilson (now known as Bobby V) led him to become Bobby’s manager when the latter’s music career took off.

As a regular advocate for the advancement of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), he was the recipient of an Alabama State University ‘50 Under 50’ alumni award as a donor, advisory committee member and ambassador of the university.

Although this is his first time as the university’s keynote speaker for the Founders’ Day Celebration, he recently donated $100,000 to create scholarships for students majoring in communications, being a former communications major himself.

University President Quinton T. Ross, Jr., Ed.D., has expressed his excitement and gratitude for having a speaker of Stewart’s merit to help commemorate the university’s leadership over the past 155 years.

“We are looking forward to hearing from Mr. Stewart, who is one of our esteemed alumni,” Ross said.  “He is a laudable representative of the thousands of graduates who have been prepared by this institution to be successful and to make a difference in their communities and in the world. We invite all of Hornet Nation to join in the virtual Founders’ Day Convocation and commemorate the legacy of those who paved the way for our great University.”