Harvard Business School’s African American Student Union (AASU) paid tribute to Lambert at the 35th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference held in Boston last month. At this occasion Harvard MBAs and Heritage Link Brands' co-founders Selena and Khary Cuffe presented Lambert with two Delta Airlines Business Elite tickets to Johannesburg and a letter detailing elegant accommodations provided by the FNB Conference Centre for her and her husband during the Festival in September.

While there, Lambert is scheduled to speak to the South African Black Vintners Alliance on the important role alliances play in competitive business environments.

“I’m profoundly grateful for the path you paved,” said Selena Cuffe in an emotional tribute to Lambert. “Your success as the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Business School and as a successful entrepreneur gives me the drive and determination to do what I do as an African American woman, entrepreneur, wife, and mother – to work to change the face of the African wine industry!”

Just 1.5 percent of South Africa’s $3-billion wine industry is owned by blacks, who comprise 80 percent of the country’s population. Heritage Link Brands LLC, which represents Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) wineries in South Africa, and serves as
the official importer for the South African Black Vintners Alliance, seeks to change that statistic. The Waltham, Mass., and Los Angeles-based company introduced Bouwland Wines into Boston-area Whole Foods Markets last month – a product that comes from a black-owned and operated farm.

Lambert, a wine aficionado, told the Cuffes and several hundred other AASU students
and Harvard Business School alumni that she was deeply moved by the gift. In Lambert’s words, “I can’t wait to visit South Africa’s black-owned vineyards and taste the fruit of their work!”

See www.heritagelinkbrands.com for more information.