diversity journal | asian-pacific american heritage month - may/june 2011

56 Profiles in Diversity Journal M ay / J U N E 2 0 11

May* is asian-Pacific american Heritage Month, a celebration of asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

We wondered what unique challenges and experiences diversity lead-ers of asian-Pacific Islander descent may have experienced in their careers, and asked for their thoughts and opinions about leadership, diversity, and mentoring. Many are first-generation immigrants, and not surprisingly, their unique cultural experiences give them a personal insight into the importance of having a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

* The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. (The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.).

Celebrating

AmAr PAnChAl • CEO

How do you define leadership? Leadership is the capac-ity to translate a vision into measurable steps and to motivate my team to scale those steps. Your team will take those steps if they understand your vision, see how they fit into achieving the vision and trust you to lead them with integrity and transparency.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? While I value Akraya’s strong record of consistent growth, I’m thrilled that we’ve been consistently ranked amongst the Best Places to Work.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Resisting change! Now, more than ever, companies in all indus-tries are faced with constant change. Leaders in many industries that did not embrace change found that they have been made obsolete.

What was the best advice you ever received? During high school, my basketball coach always said You always miss the shots you don’t take. He taught me not to be afraid of failure. Once you overcome your fear of fail-ure, life gets so much easier.

AkrAyA, Inc.

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California

Website: www.akraya.com

Primary Business: IT Staffing and Managed Solutions

Annual Revenues: $32.5 million

Number of Employees: 220

Education: MBA degree in Information Systems from Symbiosis International; BS in Computer Science from the University of Pune, India

What I’m Reading: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink

My Philosophy: Every day should count. I try to do something sig-nificant or learn something new each day that propels me forward.

Interests: I am a big fan of sports (hiking, running, skiing, wind surfing), currently preparing for a triathlon and I love spending time with my family

www.diversityjour nal.com M ay / J U N E 2 0 11 57

rAj GoPAl • Executive Vice President, Head of Enterprise Risk Architecture

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? Leading a team to successful completion of a very com-plex 2-year-long project, and most importantly, having members of that team still like each other after two years of weekly meetings! The project involved multiple business units, three internal information technology groups, three external vendors, and at its peak had more than 300 people involved. Even after many years, the pop of the champagne cork at the project completion dinner continues to ring in my ears.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Thinking that they always know what’s best. There is a tremen-dous amount to be learned from people who work for and with us. The trick is to foster an environment where the employees feel comfortable challenging

the leader’s ideas in a respectful, constructive way. Conversely, there will be times when a leader will have to make a decision going against the advice of those around him or her. A good leader is one who knows which approach to take in a given circumstance.

What was the best advice you ever received? A leader takes personal risk with every decision since that deci-sion could prove to be suboptimal in retrospect.

BAnk of the West

Headquarters: San Francisco, California

Website: www.bankofthewest.com

Primary Business: Banking

Number of Employees: 9,900

Celebrating Asian-Pacific American heritage month

Chris h. senAnAyAke • VP, Chemical Development

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? In 2010, I received the prestigious Siegfried Gold Medal Award for “innovative contributions toward efficient processes for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients” in Switzerland.

How do you define leadership? First you have to under-stand the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals on your team. You give new challenges to someone

who likes to be challenged, or who you know can take on more responsibility. And you help the one who struggle. Always look at the positive aspects of an indi-vidual rather than the negatives. Create a work environ-ment where there is positive energy, where people feel inspired and motivated, where there is a can-do attitude at all levels, and where there is clarity of goals, honesty and integrity, and accountability. Also encourage team-work, trust and collaboration. When people feel valued, they are more likely to live up to their potential, which in turn helps foster a winning team and positive cul-ture. Good leaders also make it a priority to recognize and reward high performers.

BoehrInger IngelheIm

Headquarters: Ingelheim, Germany

Website: www.boehringer-ingelheim.com

Primary Business: Human and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals

Annual Revenues: $17.7 billion


Education: BA, accounting; MS, finance

What I’m Reading: Fault Lines, by Raghuram Rajan; The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood, by James Gleick

My Philosophy: If the sun will still rise in the morning, the item being fussed over is not that important.

Interests: Playing guitar, singing and table-tennis

Education: BS degree in Sri Lanka; MS at Bowling Green State University in synthetic chemistry; PhD, Wayne State University, 1987

What I’m Reading: I read leadership related books, science related books, chemistry journals and articles related to drug development and R+D productivity.

My Philosophy: As a leader I want to foster diversity, honesty, respect, happiness, openness, effective communication, collaboration and engagement, in my teams.

Interests: Playing tennis, walking, hiking and reading

lisA hu • Vice President, Enterprise Analytics

How do you define leadership? I define leadership as the ability to lead by example, to listen objectively to differ-ent perspectives and to have the vision that is required to motivate a team. The key is to guide diverse groups of talented people to a single destination successfully.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? My team had two big successes last year. In one case, our analysis led to the creation of a program called Pharmacy Advisor, a new tool that our pharmacists use to help patients with chronic conditions better manage their prescriptions. I am also very excited about the work our team did last year on something we call our “pharmacy care economic model.” This is basically an analytical tool that explains the direct economic cost of the health problems that occur when patients with chronic condi-tions don’t take their prescription drugs. In both cases,

we started off pretty far outside the box in terms of the traditional approach to pharmacy research and wound up delivering new products that are contributing to the health of our pharmacy benefit plan members.

What risks should a leader take? As a leader, you have to have faith in your instincts and in your team. You need to be willing to be take risks, and to tackle projects even when the ultimate solution isn’t obvious.

cVs cAremArk

Headquarters: Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Website: www.cvscaremark.com

Primary Business: Pharmacy health care



Education: BS, microbiology, University of Florida; MPH, epidemiology, University of Illinois at Chicago

What I’m Reading: Dr. Seuss books with my kids

My Philosophy: Seize the day, live your life.

Interests: Work and family


jironG XiAo • Vice President, Chevron Oronite Company

cheVron corporAtIon

Headquarters: San Ramon, California

Website: www.chevron.com

Primary Business: Energy

Annual Revenues: $167 billion


Education: ScD, Chemical Engineering, MIT

What I’m Reading: The Economist

My Philosophy: It is not about what you have done. It is all about what difference you have made.

Interests: Hiking, traveling, and skiing with the family


How do you define leadership? Inspire and lead the organization to make the impossible possible. It is not

only what one has led the organization to achieve dur-ing his/her tenure, but also what the organization is able to sustain and improve after the leader has left.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? Early in my career, a critical project was facing difficul-ties, with a high level of uncertainties in its outcome. People thought it would be too risky for a newcomer to take on the challenge. I took leadership of the proj-ect and worked with many great colleagues to turn the project around. Our technology and business have since changed that particular segment of the industry, resulting in higher quality and lower environmen-tal impact products. Your cars no longer need an oil change every 3000 miles, in no small part because of what we did.

What was the best advice you ever received? Don’t look for the assignments everyone wants because of perceived visibility and where the predecessor has done a great job. Look for the challenges no one is willing to take on but that could make a big difference if successful.


robert t. Chin • Vice-President, Marketing Services

How do you define leadership? Leadership is many things, but at its core it’s about creating a vision, enlist-ing partners, communicating it at every opportunity, and executing that vision with excellence. Leaders are able to mobilize and motivate their team, develop them, and bring out the best for maximum results.

What risks should a leader take? Intelligent risks could be a means to reap rewards both personally and profes-sionally. However, under no circumstances should these risks ever come at putting the organization’s ongoing business operations in jeopardy.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Micromanagement could be among the primary factors

that can be a detriment to a leader’s success. Leaders who micromanage not only risk de-motivating their team, but also creating an unproductive, unpleasant work environment. It’s imperative that a leader develop the trust in their team, and delegate as necessary.

What was the best advice you ever received? Be kind to anyone and everyone you meet.

e. & J. gAllo WInery

Headquarters: Modesto, California

Website: www.Gallo.com

Primary Business: Alcoholic Beverage

Manufacturer/Marketer


jivAn borjA DAttA • Principal

is demonstrated through day to day actions that estab-lish a positive model both professionally and personally for others to follow and to live by.

What was the best advice you ever received? The cream always rises to the top so don’t be afraid to take risks as long as you are confident in your abilities.

ernst & young

Headquarters: New York City

Website: www.ey.com

Primary Business: Audit, Tax, Transactions and Advisory Services



Education: BA, psychology, University of British Columbia; MBA, Dalhousie University

What I’m Reading: Empowered, by Josh Bernoff

My Philosophy: Enjoy what you do!

Interests: Watching/playing all types of sports, all things tech

Education: BA, University of Rochester; JD, American University, Washington College of Law; LLM in Taxation, University of Miami

What I’m Reading: Decision Points, George W. Bush; Decoded, Jay-Z

My Philosophy: Live for Today.

Interests: Family (wife and two boys), sports, and politics

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? The worst mistake a leader can make is to lose his understand-ing of the perspectives of the people he or she may be leading.

How do you define leadership? Leadership, whether in a formal (set hierarchy or structure) or informal situation,


Christine suh • Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

How do you define leadership? Having the courage to do the right thing, even if it means challeng-ing conventional wisdom or raising uncomfortable issues, and doing the right thing in a transparent manner.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Failing to admit a mistake and the limits of his or her own knowledge. A leader needs to have the self-confidence and poise to know when to reach out for help and how to quickly move forward when problems occur.

What was the best advice you ever received? Choose to be happy. The right frame of mind makes all the difference.

fAnnIe mAe

Headquarters: Washington, DC

Website: www.fanniemae.com

Primary Business: Mortgage and Housing Finance


Education: Stanford University, BA; UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, JD

What I’m Reading: The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain

Interests: Cooking and traveling

mArk yuyinG An • Vice President for Business Analysis & Decisions - Research

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? As an economist scholar, I am most proud of my published papers. My most important piece of work is the complete characterization of log-concave and log-convex probability distributions has been widely used in statistics as well as in economics. As a practitioner in corporate America, I am most proud of the eight patents in the areas of home price modeling and mortgage credit risk analysis. At Fannie Mae, I created the Acquisition Credit Index, the Trunk-Branch Repeated Transaction Index, the Comparable Analysis and Statistical Test (used in Early Warning Report), and the P Chart. Those analytics and tools are still used throughout the company today.

What was the best advice you ever received? Be myself and be truthful to myself. We are all different. Not every-one will be as good a public speaker as President Obama. Not everyone will have basketball skills like Michael

Jordon. As an Asian American, it would be a wasteful effort to try to be someone else. I can be successful in life just being myself and being truthful to myself.

How do you define leadership? Leadership is the ability to attract followers and team members to work together on a cause. Leadership is also the ability to foresee a direction before others do and set a vision for the team to do the right things, not just do things right.

fAnnIe mAe

Headquarters: Washington, DC

Website: www.fanniemae.com

Primary Business: Mortgage and

Housing Finance



Education: PhD, economics

What I’m Reading: Drive, by Daniel Pink

My Philosophy: Continue to do good work, learn from others, and things will work out.

Interests: Reading


PAuline WinG Fun mAk • Tax Partner

How do you define leadership? A true leader is one who can elevate and bring about the best in others. True leaders also believe that their own success should be measured by the success they help others to achieve.

What are some personal and/or professional sacrifices to being a leader? An effective leader is part of the team and always ready to pick up when a teammate needs help. This requires giving of one’s time, being genuinely interested in others, and looking beyond one’s own needs or the immediate task at hand.

What was the best advice you ever received? I’ve received a lot of good advice throughout my career, but perhaps the best is to quote the facts and the rules, rather than the person who told you so.

What risks should a leader take? Good leaders take a chance on others—they invest time in nurturing and developing other people.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? Perhaps my proudest moment as a professional was being promoted to partner at KPMG LLP. It is always rewarding to know that your hard work and dedication have been recognized.

kpmg llp


Website: www.us.kpmg.com

Primary Business: Audit, Tax, and

Advisory Services

Number of Employees: More than 21,000 in the

United States


DAviD PAnG • Advisory Partner

What was the best advice you ever received? That it’s not about you! Life experiences come from speaking with others who can share what they’ve learned and help you on your journey. Find people you can trust and who will take a genuine interest in your personal and professional growth. My wife gave me this advice.

How do you define leadership? I found my leadership style by focusing on my team and creating a culture

that inspires them to think bigger, allowing each indi-vidual to grow, intellectually and professionally. I com-municate a consistent vision in a way my team can understand, as well as being open to their perspectives and ideas.

What was the defining moment in your life in which you understood your leadership? I was thrust into a leader-ship role as a young manager, and made mistakes along the way. By the time I was in my mid-thirties, I came to understand I have to be open-minded to be an effec-tive leader and to build teams that trust and rely on each other.

kpmg llp


Website: www.us.kpmg.com

Primary Business: Audit, Tax, and Advisory Services

Number of Employees: More than 21,000 in the United States

Education: Master’s in business taxation, University of Southern California; BS in accounting and finance, California State University, Long Beach

My Philosophy: Learning is a continuous process. It is important to learn about technical matters, but also to learn interpersonal skills, since we live and work in a diverse society.

Interests: Cooking, gardening

Education: University of Maryland, College Park, BS in accounting, cum laude

What I’m Reading: Power: Why Some People Have It – and Others Don’t, by Jeffrey Pfeffer

My Philosophy: Find passion in what you really like to do and give it 110 percent. Take time to reflect, have an impact on others, and find an interest outside of work to enjoy.

Interests: Watching my daughter grow up; long motorcycle/bicycle rides, and running


jAyDev PAtel • New York Life Insurance Agent

How do you define leadership? Leadership is earning the long-term respect and trust of your prospects and clients, and that comes through ethical and honest

behavior, especially in the financial services industry. When your clients have complete confidence in you, they trust your reputation as a leader as well as the company you represent.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? Over the last 38 years, hundreds of clients have become part of my family as well as an extension of the New York Life family. And because of this, I achieved the highest honor of Council President, an honor bestowed annually on the New York Life agent with the nation’s highest sales and service achievements.

In addition, all three of my children have joined and helped grow my business. When I am not here, they will continue the practice which I started for an addi-tional 40 years and provide and guide the same clients who have became a part of my family over time

Given the chance, would you do anything differently? Absolutely not. Considering where I came from and what I’ve accomplished, I wouldn’t change one thing.

neW york lIfe InsurAnce compAny


Website: www.newyorklife.com

Primary Business: Insurance

Annual U.S. Revenue: $15.5 billion

Number of U.S. Employees: More than 9,100

Education: Masters in chemistry, MS, University of Baroda, India

What I’m Reading: Business Journals

My Philosophy: Hard work with simple living.

Interests: Traveling the world, photography


vikesh nemAni • Vice President, Private Client Group

How do you define leadership? Leadership is a process through which an individual can influence and motivate a group to accomplish their common goal. It is the ability to organize and optimize resources toward the attainment of a collective objective. A leader is someone who can clearly articulate a vision that inspires the people around them and motivates them to perform at a higher level. Effective leaders are genuine, resilient, respecting, engaged and optimistic. They act with integrity, respect other people and diverse opinions, and take responsibility.

What was the best advice you ever received? The best advice I have received was from a partner at one of the Big Four accounting firms, who told me to always be genuine in life and to do what you love. Being genuine involves acting with authenticity and believing in what you do. People can generally assess whether or not you

believe in the message you are trying to deliver, and can see through false motivations. Only when you are genu-ine will you be able to fully gain their trust.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Great leaders have an unrelenting focus towards their goals. However, at times they may become so engaged in attaining their objectives that they lose peripheral vision, not realizing what is happening around them.

rBc WeAlth mAnAgement

Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Website: www.rbcwm-usa.com

Primary Business: Wealth Management Services


Number of Employees: Over 5,000

Education: MBA in banking and finance

What I’m Reading: Eyewitness to Power, by David Gergen

My Philosophy: Always give your best effort.

Interests: Cricket, yoga, football and spending time with my family


jAmes v. Chin • Partner, Member of Executive Board

What risks should a leader take? A few years ago, our firm hired a consultant to interview several of our most successful lawyers to determine what made them suc-cessful. One of the eight qualities identified was the willingness to take risks. That served as a great reminder that to achieve success, you have to risk failure.

What are some personal and/or professional sacrifices to being a leader? A leader accepts responsibility, not just for suc-cesses, but also for failures. Someone once said that adver-sity does not build character – it reveals it. That’s true. When you want to see someone’s true character, watch how that person handles adversity, and especially failure.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment?

Developing and maintaining numerous close, trusted friendships with clients and contacts over the past 18 years. After making partner, the first congratulatory note I received was from a client whom I met on a case when I was a second year associate – the note was glow-ing with heartfelt praise. Although the case did not end as well as we had hoped, the integrity we brought to the process was most important.

roBIns, kAplAn, mIller & cIresI llp

Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Website: www.rkmc.com

Primary Business: Law Firm

Number of Employees: 639


DorA lim • General Manager, Sodexo

How do you define leadership? Leadership is the ability to bring together a diverse team so that they work effec-tively. Leaders energize and drive their teams to deliver on a shared vision, mission and values. It is about empowering others to act and overcome challenges and circumstances beyond one’s control. As a leader, I strive to role-model a path for team members to emulate in order to achieve the best outcomes.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? I am privileged to be one of the few Filipino American women in the field of operations, who is account-able for generating multi-million dollars in revenue. We have a track record of double digit growth and a successful, long-term partnership. This role has also allowed me to have the platform and credibility to mentor a very talented team. By providing an environ-ment where successes and contributions are recognized, it is rewarding to see my associates fulfill their optimum career potential.

sodexo

Headquarters: Gaithersburg, Maryland (North America)

Website: www.sodexo.com

Primary Business: Provider of Quality of Daily Life Solutions

Annual Revenues: $8 billion (North America)

Number of Employees: 125,000 (North America)

Education: University of Georgia School of Law, JD; University of Georgia, BA, cum laude

What I’m Reading: Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization, by Jeff Rubin

My Philosophy: Life, and the practice of law, is not about wins and losses; it is about the relationships you develop along the way.

Interests: My family and friends, fitness, golf, UGA sports (Go Dawgs!), good restaurants

Education: BS, food technology, University of the Philippines

What I’m Reading: Winning, by Jack Welch; The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene

My Philosophy: “I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. The only thing I can do is play the one string I have and that is my attitude. The remarkable thing is I have a choice every day regarding the attitude I embrace.” - Charles Swindoll.

Interests: I enjoy travelling and spending time with family and friends, working out in the gym with my buddies, dining out, and simply having lots of fun.


sAm ho • Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer

How do you define leadership? Leadership is so much more than competent management, and requires inspi-ration to others, a compelling vision, integrity and values, personal accountability, passion and compassion, focused discipline of thought, people and actions, and true trust in the team in order to enable extraordinary performance.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? Working through several turnaround situations to achieve remarkable successes in two Fortune 500 com-panies, a public health department, and a start-up community clinic in a severe health manpower short-

age area. These all confirmed that one could do well by doing good.

What are some personal and/or professional sacrifices to being a leader? A leader must absolutely understand and translate the greater good or explain the why and not just the what and the how of what we do, day in and day out. Without the why, the personal and professional sacrifices can be even more formidable than they already are.

unItedheAlthcAre

Headquarters: Edina, Minnesota

Website: www.uhc.com

Primary Business: Health benefits management

within a health and consumer services organization

Annual Revenues: $87 billion


Education: Northwestern University, BA in sociology and Phi Beta Kappa; Tufts University School of Medicine, MD; University of California, San Francisco, Family Medicine Residency

What I’m Reading: The 10 Laws of Enduring Success, by Maria Bartiromo

My Philosophy: “Some see things and ask ‘why?’ I dream things that never were, and I ask, ‘why not’?” George Bernard Shaw.

Interests: Vigorous exercise, world travel, healthy dining and cooking, music, reading, baseball

Ashish bhArArA • Vice President of Sourcing, Home and Hardlines, Walmart

WAlmArt stores, Inc.

Headquarters: Bentonville, Arkansas

Website: www.walmartstores.com

Primary Business: Retail

Number of Employees: 2.1 million worldwide

Education: Bachelor of industrial engineering, Thapar University, India; MS, industrial and systems engineering, University of Florida

What I’m Reading: Sam Walton, Made in America: My Story, by Sam Walton with John Huey

My Philosophy: Never underestimate the value of sweat equity.

Interests: Hiking with family and dog, books and articles about geopolitics/economics

What was the defining moment in your life in which you understood your leadership? During my engineering internship I recommended an equipment modification. Much to my surprise, the plant workers looked at me and kept doing what they were doing. So I asked for some tools and got to work. The next day, I was introduced to an apprentice who helped finish the job. I learned that you have to be willing to take the initiative and walk the talk if you want to be taken seriously as a leader.

What is your most rewarding career accomplishment? I was charged with leading a team that was having dif-ficulty understanding how it fit within the business. We started by focusing on our internal customer and geared our work to delivering ROI for the business. This pro-vided functional clarity and drove engagement.

The team members got motivated and delivered strong results. They were recognized not only for exem-plary results, but also for the way that they achieved those results. I found personal satisfaction in seeing sev-eral members of that team advance into senior roles.


Anthony nGuyen • Senior Vice President, Care Management

How do you define leadership? The ability to influence others to challenge the status quo and to perpetually improve. By definition, a leader needs to be out at the front edge of things. That is both a dangerous and an exciting place to be.

What was the best advice you ever received? I don’t know if it is as much a piece of advice as the example my parents set for me in how they lived their lives. They persevered past every obstacle and showed me what is possible if you work hard and try to excel.

What’s the worst mistake a leader can make? Betraying their followers’ trust. Someone once said that it is better to be trusted than to be loved, and in business I believe that is very true.

What are some personal and/or professional sacrifices to being a leader? You are always “on stage.” Your words and demeanor at work and at home are being closely observed.

What risks should a leader take? Go to work each day willing to get fired. Take calculated risks. If you don’t swing at strikes, you’ll never get a home run.

WellpoInt, Inc.

Headquarters: Indianapolis, Indiana

Website: www.wellpoint.com

Primary Business: Health benefits

Annual Revenues: $58.8 billion in 2010

Number of Employees: Approximately 37,000


Education: MD, MBA

What I’m Reading: The Innovator’s Prescription, by Christensen, Grossman and Hwang

My Philosophy: Be the mammal among dinosaurs – evolve as fast as I can, trying to be that mammal who survives as the dinosaurs drop off.

Interests: Swimming and time with my three boys

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diversity journal | asian-pacific american heritage month - may/june 2011

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