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Dr. Randal D. Pinkett (born 1971) is the first African American candidate to be hired on national television through the US version of The Apprentice, a television reality show starring Donald Trump. (There have been black candidates hired in the South African and British versions of the programme before Pinkett was hired.) Pinkett was hired on national television during the season finale of season four. Pinkett is the President and CEO of BCT Partners , a management, technology and policy consulting services firm. Over the course of the season, Pinkett had the best record as project manager, with an undefeated 3-0 record.

Pinkett's competitor in the finale was Rebecca Jarvis, a journalist from Chicago. For his final task, Pinkett met with Outback Steakhouse executives and the CEO of Autism Speaks in order to coordinate his most difficult task of the entire series, a charity fundraiser for Autism Speaks. Pinkett planned a celebrity softball game, but the game was rained out. Pinkett was criticized by Trump's associate Carolyn Kepcher for lack of a detailed back-up plan and for failing to monitor the weather after an early forecast put the chances of rain at 30%. Pinkett arranged a last-minute auction in an undecorated white room, which raised nearly $11,000. Trump criticized Pinkett for not spotlighting the celebrities in attendance, who intermingled with the auction crowd.

In an unusual twist, when Pinkett was hired by Trump, Trump asked Pinkett if he should also hire Jarvis. Pinkett replied, "I firmly believe this is 'The Apprentice,'" and that "there is one, and only one `Apprentice' and if you're going to hire someone tonight, it should be one." He added that the show was called "The Apprentice" and not "The Apprenti" Trump said he "could have been convinced," but opted to agree with Pinkett and "leave it at that." Trump then dropped the subject, but many viewers were left with the impression that he had hoped to hire both Pinkett and Jarvis. (The fourth season of The Apprentice regularly saw Trump playing havoc with established procedures, including multiple firings.) The audience showed their disapproval of Pinkett's comments with boos, but he firmly stood by his decision.

Pinkett later gave his version of the events in an interview with blackenterprise.com. He stated, "I'm satisfied with the decision I made and I'm pleased with the arguments I presented. As I said last night, 'in a competition there is only one winner.' You wouldn't ask the gold medalist in the Olympics to share with the silver medalist. Unfortunately for those that wanted to see a double hiring or see Rebecca win, I ended up being the bearer of bad news. However, at the end of day all I did was give Mr. Trump my recommendation. It was ultimately his decision to not hire Rebecca."

Education

Pinkett holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University; an M.Sc. in Computer Science from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar; an S.M. in EECS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management, as an MIT Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) fellow; and a Ph.D. from the MIT Media Laboratory.

Pinkett graduated from Rutgers Summa Cum Laude, and was the first African American from Rutgers to receive a Rhodes Scholarship. He was in Cap and Skull. He also served as President of MEET, the Rutgers Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, and was the captain of the Rutgers varsity men's track and field team, competing as a high jumper and long jumper.

Pinkett's Ph.D. thesis was titled "Bridging the Digital Divide: Sociocultural Constructionism and an Asset-Based Approach to Community Technology and Community Building in a Low-Income Community."

Pinkett graduated from Hightstown High School in Hightstown, New Jersey.

Also Hired On the Apprentice

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