Lillian Lincoln Lambert is a passionate speaker who understands the power of storytelling. To this end, Lillian uses her personal story of “achieving the American dream” to inspire her audiences to reach their full potential and be all they can be. Her motto is “If I can succeed, so can you.”

Born on a farm in the segregated South, Lillian sensed in her bones that a better life awaited her. At the age of 18, she journeyed to New York City and Washington, DC, to seek her fortune. After gutting out menial jobs as a maid and typist for a few years, Lillian came to the realization that her journey was internal and that education would be her ticket to a new world. With loans and scholarships in hand, she obtained a BA degree from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. It was at Harvard that Lillian achieved a historical milestone as the first African American woman to receive a Harvard MBA. The year was 1969, an era forever linked with the civil rights and burgeoning women’s rights movements.

After Harvard, Lillian became a barrier-breaking entrepreneur. From 1976 to 2001, she was President and CEO of Centennial One, Inc., a building maintenance company she founded in her garage on a few thousand dollars. She grew the company to $20 million in sales with more than 1,200 employees. Lillian sold the company in 2001, eager to pursue other entrepreneurial opportunities, such as speaking and writing.

In 2003, Harvard Business School awarded Lillian the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest award bestowed on its alumni. The award recognizes recipients for "their contributions they made to their companies and communities, while upholding the highest standards and values in everything they do."

Lillian sits on the Board of Visitors at Virginia Commonwealth University and Board of Directors for Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association.

In her spare time, she enjoys golf, traveling, reading, wine collecting, and listening to jazz. She is active in her community, and she sings tenor in her church choir. Lillian resides in Mechanicsville, Virginia, with her husband, John A. Lambert, Sr.