Abhijay Prakash is President of Blumhouse and oversees all business aspects of the company. Following its merger with James Wan’s Atomic Monster in January 2024, the combined companies are responsible for nearly $9 Billion in worldwide box office, and have produced nearly 250 movies and television series.

Prakash was formerly the President of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG), where he was responsible for driving the studio’s strategic and long-range planning, while also overseeing the business operations of UFEG including finance, business development and administrative functions. Prakash previously served as Chief Operating Officer and DreamWorks Animation and oversaw the animation studio’s strategic planning and primary business operations including finance, business development, technology, and administrative functions. In addition to his responsibilities as COO, he also worked closely with Universal leaders on release planning, franchise management, and brand development. Prior to DreamWorks Animation, Prakash was Chief Operating Officer for Focus Features, overseeing all aspects of finance, strategy, business affairs, physical production, distribution and operations. Prior to that role, he served as Executive Vice President, Film Strategy and Operations for Universal Pictures.

Prior to his tenure at Universal, Prakash served as a Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in its Media and Entertainment division. He has also held positions at IGN Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment, the precursor to Lionsgate; and previously worked as a public policy researcher. Prakash is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Princeton University, in addition to holding a Master’s Degree in Film from Northwestern University.

As senior vice president, Content, for Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service, Agnes Chu is responsible for commissioning series, feature films, short form content and other high-quality entertainment formats for the service, which launched on November 12, 2019. Reporting to Ricky Strauss, president of Content & Marketing for the service, Chu leads the Disney+ Originals teams for scripted, unscripted and content operations, partnering closely with external production entities and Disney-owned internal content creators, including The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Television, Disney Digital Media, Pixar Animation, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.

Chu has served in a variety capacities since joining the Company in 2008. Prior to her current position in the new Direct-to-Consumer & International segment, she served as executive of Story and Franchise Development at Walt Disney

Imagineering. From 2013-2016, Agnes worked for Bob Iger as vice president, Office of the Chairman and CEO.

Additionally, she served as director of Daytime and Current Programming at ABC Entertainment on Emmy award-winning soap opera “General Hospital” and primetime comedies “Malibu Country” and “Don’t Trust The B- In Apartment 23.” Her first role with the Company was managing the development and production of original short form content for Disney-ABC Television Group’s digital platforms, which garnered an Emmy nomination for the original web series “LOST: Mysteries of the Universe.”

Earlier in her career, Chu was involved in producing documentaries for theatrical and TV release. Her previous work included the Oscar-nominated “Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room” and ”The Blues”, a seven film series on PBS with directors Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood and Alex Gibney at Jigsaw Productions.

Chu earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a MBA from Columbia Business School.

Aileen is founding Partner at Cowboy Ventures, a team that backs seed-stage technology companies re-imagining work and life through technology, what they call “life 2.0”. Cowboy Ventures works with a wide range of startups from modern enterprise oriented companies like Guild Education and Lightstep to new consumer digital native brands like Dollar Shave Club and Tally.

Aileen periodically writes about technology insights and is known for coining the business term “unicorn” for public and private companies valued over $!bn. She has been named to the Forbes Midas List of best investors and Forbes Most Powerful Women, as well as to Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.

Prior to Cowboy, Aileen was a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for over a decade, was founding CEO of digital media company RMG Networks and worked at Gap Inc in operating roles. She has degrees from MIT and HBS, is mom of 3 and wife to a startup founder, and is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and co-founder of the non-profit All Raise, aiming to accelerate success for women in the technology ecosystem.

Albert Cheng is Chief Operating Officer and Co-Head of Television at Amazon Studios. As COO of the Studio, he leads studio teams responsible for programming and release schedules, TV and feature film music, consumer insights research, technology and applications. As Co-Head of Television, both he and Vernon Sanders lead a team responsible for television creative development, business affairs, casting and production / post-production. Since its inception in 2010, Amazon Studios has produced Emmy Award-winning and nominated shows including Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Transparent, Bosch, The Man in the High Castle, and Catastrophe.

Prior to Amazon Studios, Cheng was an executive at The Walt Disney Company for fifteen years in a number of roles. His most recent position was as Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Chief Product Officer for Disney/ABC Television Group, where he was charged with general management and strategic oversight of digital media for ABC Entertainment, Oscars Digital, ABC News, ABC Daytime, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Jr and SOAPnet. He led a team that oversaw product development, marketing and operations for the Group’s digital media content platforms, including video-on-demand, broadband, web-based and mobile platforms, as well as interactive television technologies. During that time, years before Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, Cheng and his team were the first in history to put TV episodes on iTunes in 2005, stream top broadcast shows online in 2006, stream in HD in 2007, first to launch an app on the iPad in 2010, and first to offer live broadcast network feeds in 2013. They won four Primetime Emmys for their work during this period of time.

Cheng has also held executive positions at Fox and board roles at BMI and Lifetime and was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Cheng earned a Bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Ali Wong is a stand-up comic from San Francisco, now living in Los Angeles. Her first Netflix stand-up special BABY COBRA was filmed when she was 7 months pregnant. According to the New York Magazine , “The special’s arrival on Netflix is the sort of star-making moment that unites the tastes of the unlikeliest fans.” Elle applauded it as a “comic genius gem” while Vogue called it “The special that everyone is talking about.” Emily Nussbaum hailed it as “funny and refreshingly rude.” The day before its premiere, Wong’s interview with Marc Maron on his podcast WTF was released. He called the special “the most honest, rawest, funniest special I’ve seen in years.”

She soon after became a very popular Halloween costume. Fans, both male and female, dressed up in Wong’s iconic red glasses, black and white striped dress and pregnant belly. The Smithsonian has asked Wong to donate the actual dress, shoes and necklace she wore in the BABY COBRA, to the Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

Ali’s second stand-up special, HARD KNOCK WIFE premiered on Netflix in on Mother’s Day, 2018. Her feature film, ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE, which she co-wrote and co-stars in, debuted on Netflix May 2019 to wide critical acclaim. In the first four weeks, it was seen by 32 million viewers. This Halloween, fans have continued to dress up as Wong in the striped dress, in the leopard dress and as her character, Sasha Tran, from ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE.

Tickets to see Wong headline live are now known to sell out within two minutes. She recently sold out an unprecedented 13 shows at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. She is currently on her MILK & MONEY standup tour that continues to sell out nationwide. Her book DEAR GIRLS: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life was released October 2019 and became an instant New York Times Bestseller. According to Vogue, “[Wong] spins a volume whose pages simultaneously shock and satisfy. . . . Dear Girls is not so much a real-talk handbook as it is a myth-puncturing manifesto.”

Andrew Yang is an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and former 2020 presidential candidate. Initially dubbed a “longer than long shot” candidate by the New York Times in 2018, Andrew became a top contender for the presidency. With a vision to rewrite the rules of the United States economy through a “Freedom Dividend” of $1,000 a month for every American adult, Andrew became one of the most exciting stories in the 2020 race.

Andrew’s nationwide support, known as the “Yang Gang,” propelled him to seven Democratic primary debates, outlasting six senators, four governors, three members of congress, two mayors, and one secretary. According to CNN, their campaign “didn’t just make history… [it] unquestionably put a sizable dent in the future as well.”

Andrew then founded Humanity Forward, an organization built to legitimize the vision and ideas of his presidential campaign. Through both advocacy and action, Humanity Forward’s vision is to foster ​a human-centered America that measures each person for their intrinsic value, not their economic value.

Prior to running for office, Andrew founded Venture for America, a non-profit that created thousands of jobs in Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and other cities throughout the country. In his book, ​​The War on Normal People,​​ he explains the mounting job-loss crisis due to automation, making the case for ​Universal Basic Income. Andrew was named a Presidential Ambassador of Entrepreneurship by the White House under the Obama administration and a Champion of Change for his work with Venture for America. Andrew lives in New York City with his wife, Evelyn, and their two sons.

Native Southern Californian, Annie graduated from UCLA in 2002 with a degree in Economics. Annie went on to work at Disney in consumer products before joining the UMG North America
Finance team for one year until she eventually became a vital and main component to the Interscope team.

When she was promoted to the position of CFO of the company in 2019, Chairman John Janick called her “an important part of the future of Interscope Geffen A&M.”

Lee’s duties at IGA encompass much more than a traditional finance role. As CFO, Lee oversees finance, special projects, A&R Administration and manages the teams that operate the company’s inhouse recording studio and touring department. Together with the senior management team, she helps set the company’s priorities, planning for the future and troubleshooting issues that arise. In addition to collaborating with these senior executives on decision making, Lee is tasked with implementing their decisions within the company. She has
been hyper-focused on streamlining the business and instituting processes that enable the Interscope team of more than 230 employees to become more efficient and nimble and empower them to make better marketing and creative decisions.

Awkwafina is a Golden Globe winning actress, writer and musician from Queens, New York. She grew up with her given name, Nora Lum, and has since used her trademark comedic style and signature flair to become a breakout talent in the entertainment industry. Most recently, Lum can be see in her Comedy Central Show, “Awkwafina is Nora From Queens,” which just completed his first season and “Jumanji: The Next Level,” which opened December 2019.

Lum is receiving glowing reviews for her starring role in the indie darling “The Farewell,” where she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The story is based on a true story about a family saying goodbye to their beloved matriarch – the only person who doesn’t know she is dying.

Lum brings an impressive range of talent to everything she does, most famously to Warner Bros’ smash hit “Crazy Rich Asians,” which she starred as Peik Lin. She also hosted “Saturday Night Live” and starred in “Ocean’s 8.”
Lum became an internet sensation in 2012 with her satirical work in the viral video “My Vag,” and her 2014 debut album, which featured her acclaimed raps “NYC Bitche$,” “Mayor Bloomberg (Giant Margarita),” and the title track, “Yellow Ranger.”

Lum can next be seen in Marvel’s Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings and season two of her Comedy Central show. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Bela Bajaria was named Head of Global TV in 2020, overseeing English language and local language scripted and unscripted series around the world. Bajaria leads the team for all of television, responsible for hit series including Bridgerton, The Queen’s Gambit, Lupin, and Cobra Kai.

Previously, she oversaw local language originals, managing the teams behind shows such as La Casa de Papel (Spain), The Witcher (Poland), Lupin (France), Dark Desire (Mexico), Sacred Games (India), Kingdom (Korea), Blood & Water (South Africa), and Sintonia (Brazil).

Bajaria joined Netflix in November 2016 to oversee Netflix’s push into unscripted programming including the critically acclaimed Queer Eye, Nailed It!, and Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, as well as talk series with David Letterman and Hasan Minhaj. Bajaria also oversaw some scripted originals such as the hit series Never Have I Ever and YOU.

Previously, Bajaria was President of Universal Television, where she made history as the first woman of color to oversee a studio. There she shepherded creative programming including the Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as hit primetime broadcast series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project, and Chicago Fire. Earlier, she held two key posts simultaneously: Senior Vice President, Cable Programming for CBS TV Studios, and Senior Vice President of Movies and Miniseries for CBS Network.

Bajaria has been honored by THR’s Women in Entertainment list, Variety’s LA Women’s Impact Report, and named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in 2020.

She currently serves on the LA Board of Governors for the Paley Center and the Board of LA’s Saban Community Clinic; she was honored with its Lenny Somberg Award in 2018. Bajaria has been honored by the “I Have a Dream” Foundation of LA, The March of Dimes Foundation, and was given the Industry Leadership Award from the LA Indian Film Festival.

BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band that has taken the world by storm. BTS has received many awards and honors, including 15 Melon Music Awards, 15 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 14 Golden Disc Awards, 12 Seoul Music Awards, 10 Gaon Chart Music Awards, 4 Korean Music Awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards (first Korean group), and one American Music Award (first Korean group).

BTS made their debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with the track “DNA” from the EP Love Yourself: Her. Another track from the EP, the remix version of “Mic Drop,” peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks are certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, a first for any Korean group. Their third album, Love Yourself: Tear, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 making them the first and only Korean act to achieve this. On November 9, 2018, Love Yourself: Answer became the first Korean album certified Gold and the single “MIC Drop” became the first track by a Korean group certified Platinum in the United States. BTS has sold over 10 million albums and were the most retweeted celebrities in the world for 2017 and 2018.

Chieh Huang is Co-Founder and CEO of Boxed.com, a company that is disrupting the wholesale shopping club experience by enabling you to shop for bulk-sized items online or via mobile app and have them delivered directly to your door. Forbes Magazine has named Boxed one of the next “billion dollar startups.” Started in Chieh’s garage 5 years ago, Boxed now has hundreds of employees in facilities all over the United States. Since the garage, the company has sold hundreds of millions of dollars of products and has raised over a quarter billion dollars in funding to date.

Chieh’s personal honors include being named to “Bloomberg 50”, Bloomberg Businessweek’s 50 people to watch in 2018, to National Retail Federation’s list of People Shaping Retail’s Future, as one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and Goldman Sachs’ list of “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine included Chieh on their list of “The 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs.” You can read more about Chieh’s story in People Magazine’s profile of him for their “American Dream” series, tracking his growth from humble beginnings to running a fast-growing online retailer. You can also catch more of him at TED.com delivering a talk about his lifelong battle against micromanagers.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

In my last year my proudest accomplishment is just keeping the wheels on the wagon… With everything going on, with family, a growing business, and more and more … being out there in the public sphere… it’s put a lot of pressure on me time wise. So being able to balance everything is definitely something I’ve been very proud of this past year.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

We’ve had access to a lot of great Asian American talent because, since there are not a lot of Asian American retail CEOs, they see one and they’re like ‘I’d like to work for that guy.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Other entrepreneurs who have done it before. An unofficial mentor of mine has been David Liu of XO group who talks some sense into me every time I see him. He’s not shy about dispensing advice.

The 2018 Winter Olympics cemented Chloe Kim as the female face of both snowboarding and action sports. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal and scoring a 98.25 on her third and final run, Chloe became the youngest woman in history to win an Olympic snowboarding Gold medal.

Prior to the Olympics, Chloe medaled at every event she entered in the 2017-18 season, starting with Gold medals at the New Zealand World Cup, Copper Grand Prix and Dew Tour, where she officially clinched her spot on the 2018 Olympic team. In January 2018, Chloe won Silver Medals at the Mammoth and Snowmass Grand Prix’s and, in the last competition prior to the Olympics, her fourth career Gold medal at the X Games, making her the first athlete to earn four X Games Gold medals before her 18th birthday. Chloe kicked off the 2016-17 season winning Gold medals at the Copper Grand Prix and LAAX Open, pushing her consecutive event win streak to eight. She went on to win Bronze at X Games and the first World Cup Crystal Globe of her career. Chloe finished the season defending her Gold medal at the Burton US Open. During the 2015-16 season, Chloe won six Gold and two Silver medals. Chloe season highlights included defending her X Games Gold medal, becoming the first X Games athlete to win two Gold medals before the age of 16. Chloe continued to break new ground in women’s snowboarding, becoming the first woman to land back-to-back 1080s and score a perfect 100.

Chloe made history during the 2014-15 season when she became the youngest competitor (at 14 years old) to win a winter X Games Gold medal. 2013-14 was Chloe’s breakout season. The year began with a Bronze medal at the Dew Tour and continued with Chloe grabbing Silver at X Games. She finished the season with another Silver at the Burton US Open – all at the age of 13.

Chloe has had just as much success off of the mountain as she has had on it, being featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2017, TIME’s 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016 and 2017, and espnW’s 2015 IMPACT25 list. In addition, Chloe has been nominated for an ESPY, Kids Choice Sports Award, and two Laureus World Sports Awards.

Chloe qualified to make the 2014 Olympic Halfpipe team, but due to her age and IOC rules, was unable to compete, setting up her debut on the Olympics stage in Korea in 2018 where she took home a gold medal. Chloe’s first tracks on a snowboard were at the age of four and she began competing when she was six. Chloe, whose parents emigrated from Korea, now lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Chrissy Teigen is a model, TV personality, and digital superstar. She discovered a passion for modeling at a young age, beginning as a swimsuit model and eventually collaborating with major labels all around the world. The model has since become a highly sought-after television personality, hosting the 2013 reality show Model Employee. Two years later, Chrissy became a commentator on “Lip Sync Battle” and a co-host on the daytime talk show “FabLife.” In 2016, Chrissy released a cookbook, “Cravings,” which instantly became a New York Times bestseller, heralding back to her childhood dream of being a chef. She released a second cookbook in September 2018 titled “Cravings: Hungry for More.” Chrissy is also universally adored for her sharp, timely, and culturally-astute presence on Twitter by her more than 11 million followers and was named by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people of 2019.

At just 25, Collin Morikawa is already a two-time major champion and Olympian with a list of history-making wins to his name. He and Tiger Woods are the only two players to have before age 25 won a Major and a WGC title, as well as both the PGA Championship and Open Championship. After top-10 performances at both the 2021 PGA Championship and U.S. Open, Collin was named Champion Golfer of the Year with his commanding performance at the 2021 Open Championship. He was also named the 2021 Male Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America. He is also the only player in history to win a Major in his first attempt twice. Collin was raised in Los Angeles, CA, and has excelled beyond golf as a 2019 graduate of the prestigious Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley. When not competing, Collin devotes himself to spending time with his fiancée, dog and finding the best eats in town.

The blockbuster pioneer’s production company, Rideback (formerly Lin Pictures), has generated over $3 billion dollars at the box office through “Sherlock Holmes,” “The LEGO Movie” franchise, and “It” (which holds the record for highest grossing horror film), as well as the “Lethal Weapon” television series.

In 1999, a day after Lin’s graduation, a studio executive offered Lin a junior position at Warner Bros. in their film production group. Lin worked his way up to Senior Vice President of Production and left in 2007 to form his own company. During his eight years at Warner Bros., Lin oversaw the development and production of the Academy Award-winning film “The Departed,” directed by Martin Scorsese. In 2018, he founded Rideback Ranch, a creative campus and incubator in LA’s Historic Filipinotown that brings together diverse storytellers in a unique setting to inspire collaboration and innovation, as well as the Evolve Entertainment Fund to promote inclusion alongside filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Hailing from Taipei, Taiwan, Dan received his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Lin is widely respected and loved for his consistent track record of success and grounded–but inspired–style.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Launching the Rideback TV Incubator that focuses on promoting diversity and inclusion in cable TV and streaming services. It took a year of intensive planning but I am excited about our first session that begins in May. We have an amazing group of Creators and an inspiring team of Producers who will be working alongside them. I’m excited to develop this next generation of talent and the stories they will tell.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I grew up in the business during a time when I was often the only minority in the room. So I’m excited to see that slowly changing now with more diversity in the executive and producer ranks. My ethnic identity made me think differently, like an outsider who is playing inside the system. As such, I find that I often support the outsiders who are looking to find their place in this business and have their voices heard – whether it’s writers, directors, or rightsholders.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

When I was an executive at Warner Bros., I learned from great leaders starting from Lorenzo di Bonaventura to Jeff Robinov to Alan Horn. I wouldn’t be a producer today without that strong support from the studio. Now I am blessed to have an amazing team at Rideback that supports me and allows the company to scale. I also have a core advisory team that includes my manager Mikkel Bondesen, my attorney David Fox, my spiritual adviser Dave Gibbons, and my real estate partner Tim Siegel. Most importantly, my wife Sophia who has supported me since we were both still students in school. She is now head of design at Rideback and played an integral role in building the creative campus of Rideback Ranch.

Daniel Dae Kim has made a career of creating multifaceted and stereotype-breaking roles as an actor, director and now, producer. Prior to his seven-season portrayal of Chin Ho Kelly on “Hawaii Five-0,” Daniel was best known for his role as Jin Soo Kwon on the hit TV series “Lost,” for which he shared a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble, and was individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award and a Vanguard Award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor. In 2009, he was recognized with the prestigious KoreAm Achievement Award in the field of Arts and Entertainment, and has twice been named one of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive.”

Most recently, he received a Broadway Beacon Award for his role as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Tony Award-winning production of “The King and I,” as well as the Theater Legacy Award from New York’s Pan Asian Repertory Theater. Outside of his artistic endeavors, he actively pursues interests in the community at large, having most recently served as Cultural Envoy and Member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the United States at the World Expo in Korea.

Born in Busan, South Korea and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Daniel discovered acting while a student at Haverford College. After graduation, he moved to New York City, where he began his career on stage, performing in classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “Ivanov,” and “A Doll’s House.” Despite early success, he deepened his knowledge of the craft by enrolling at New York University’s Graduate Acting Program, where he earned his Master’s Degree.

In addition to his onscreen career, Daniel spearheads his production company 3AD, established in 2014 to produce premier content for TV, film and digital media – in development partnership with ITV Studios America. Committed to storytelling that features characters and cultures traditionally underrepresented in today’s media, 3AD’s produced projects include this season’s acclaimed new series “The Good Doctor“ (ABC), where Daniel serves as Executive Producer.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

With my production company, 3AD and my roles in “Good Doctor,” “Hellboy,” “and “Always Be My Maybe,” my proudest accomplishment of last year was really just being a small part of this wave of Asian American awareness. I think really this past year in particular there’s never been a better time to be an Asian American in this industry, and I’m really encouraged by that.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I think the real answer to that question is — how has it not? It really has influenced and informed every part of who I am.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Success in this industry doesn’t happen for anyone without a strong base of solid supporters at every stage of your career and I am no exception. From one of my first acting teachers, Ron Van Liew, to J.J. Abrams and all of my brothers and sisters who are taking this journey as actors, there have been a countless number of people who have been there to support me and I’m happy to return the favor and support them as well.

Chef David Chang is the Michelin-star-winning founder of Momofuku Restaurant Group, which includes Momofuku Noodle Bar, Milk Bar, majordōmo, and numerous other culture-defining restaurants. Recently, he created and starred in the Netflix original series, “Ugly Delicious” and launched Majordomo Media that’s developing a podcast, TV shows, and an editorial platform.

Dr. Lisa Su is an American business executive and electrical engineer, who is the president, chief executive officer and chair of AMD. Early in her career, Su worked at Texas Instruments, IBM, and Freescale Semiconductor in engineering and management positions. She is known for her work developing silicon-on-insulator semiconductor manufacturing technologies and more efficient semiconductor chips during her time as vice president of IBM’s Semiconductor Research and Development Center.

Su was appointed president and CEO of AMD in October 2014, after joining the company in 2012 and holding roles such as senior vice president of AMD’s global business units and chief operating officer. She currently serves on the boards of Cisco Systems, Global Semiconductor Alliance, and the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association, and is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Recognized with a number of awards and accolades, she was named Executive of the Year by EE Times in 2014 and one of the World’s Greatest Leaders in 2017 by Fortune. She became the first woman to receive the IEEE Robert Noyce Medal in 2021.

Dr. Priscilla Chan co-founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) with her husband, Mark, in December 2015. As a pediatrician and educator, her work with patients and students in communities across the Bay Area has informed her desire to make learning more personalized and find a path to cure disease. Often regarded as one of the most ambitious philanthropies in the world, CZI seeks to engineer change at scale by pairing world class engineering with grantmaking, impact investing, policy, and advocacy work. She is also the founder and CEO of The Primary School, which integrates health and education to serve children and families in East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park, California. Priscilla earned her BA in Biology at Harvard University and her MD at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She completed her pediatrics training in the UCSF/PLUS Pediatrics Residency. Following her graduation from Harvard, she served as a fourth- and fifth-grade science teacher.

Actor and producer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson continues to be box office gold. The films he starred in last year (“Rampage,” “Skyscraper.” and “Fighting with My Family”) collectively earned over $771 million, making him one of the top grossing actors of the year once again. He is also set to star in the upcoming films “Hobbs & Shaw” and “Jumanji 3”. In addition, Dwayne has been active across multiple platforms, starring in and executive producing HBO’s “Ballers”; executively producing the blockbuster “Shazam!”; hosting NBC’s “The Titan Games”; and engaging fans weekly on his popular YouTube channel. Johnson is widely adored by industry and fans worldwide for his unmatched athleticism, relentless charm, and sincere heart.

Eric J. Kim is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Goodwater Capital, a global consumer technology focused venture capital firm that has grown to over $5 Billion in assets since its inception in 2014. Eric has led several multi-billion dollar outcomes as an early investor in, and often board director of, global internet platforms such as Kakao (KOSDAQ: 035720), Musical.ly (Bytedance / Tik Tok), Coupang (NYSE: CPNG), Xendit, Viva Republica (Toss), Danggeun Market (Karrot), MoMo, and Everlywell.

Prior to co-founding Goodwater, Eric was a Managing Director at Maverick Capital where he helped to build Maverick’s private investments and venture capital business. Eric was also a startup member of two technology companies spun out of Stanford University. Eric began his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

As an undergrad at Yale University, Eric majored in Cognitive Science (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude) and was a member of the Grammy-nominated Yale Cellos. Eric also received an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Eric serves on the advisory board of the Johns Hopkins Alliance for Science and Technology and on the non-profit boards of CollegeTrack, the Asian Pacific Fund and the St. Thomas More Chapel at Yale University.

Eric Yuan decided to come to the U.S. in the mid ’90’s because of the Internet, which he knew was the wave of the future. The first time he applied for a U.S. visa, he was rejected. He continued to apply again and again over the course of two years and finally received his visa on the ninth try.

He then arrived in Silicon Valley in 1997 and joined WebEx, which at the time was a real-time collaboration company with about a dozen employees. In 2007 WebEx was acquired by Cisco and he became Cisco’s Corporate VP of engineering, in charge of collaboration software. Eric often met with customers, and in his conversations with them learned they weren’t happy with the current collaboration solutions, including WebEx.

He firmly believed that he could develop a platform that would make customers happy, so in June of 2011, he decided it was time to venture off on his own. Eric first envisioned Zoom when he was a freshman in college in China and regularly took a ten-hour train ride to visit his girlfriend (who is now his wife). He detested those rides and used to imagine other ways that he could visit his girlfriend without traveling — those daydreams eventually became the basis for Zoom.

More than 40 fellow engineers followed him in this new venture and together, they launched the Zoom platform in 2012. Seven years later in 2019, the company has gone public and is valued at $15 billion with $269.5 million gross profit in the latest fiscal year.

As the head coach for the Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra is the first Asian American to hold that title in any of the four major North American sports leagues. He is also the first Asian American head coach to ever win an NBA championship, which the team secured in 2012 and 2013. Since 2011, Spoelstra has led his team to the NBA Finals four times in a row. The Heat’s fifth appearance in the NBA Finals was in 2020.

Before his coaching career, Erik was a basketball player himself. He accepted a basketball scholarship offer from the University of Portland before being named West Coast Conference freshman of the year. He spent four years as a starting point card and is considered one of the career leaders in many categories. While playing abroad in Germany, Spoelstra received a job offer with the Miami Heat, and he’s since climbed his way up to lead one of the best teams in the nation.

Eugene Lee Yang is one of today’s most prolific digital content producers and performers whose collective work has been viewed billions of times. This past year, he and his fellow cofounders of the unscripted comedy series “The Try Guys” created their own independent production company, 2nd Try, and their new YouTube channel amassed over 5 million subscribers in 6 months.

Together, they hosted the 2018 Streamys where they won Show of the Year, wrote their debut book, “The Hidden Power Of F*cking Up,” which releases in June, and will launch their podcast The TryPod. Yang is well-known for being a prevalent voice for Asian and LGBTQ+ representation in the digital space and hosted The Trevor Project’s TrevorLIVE 2018 event. He also recently made his acting debut, appearing in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and in the upcoming indie film “Spring Bloom,” with a number of more traditional projects in development. As one of YouTube’s most-watched personalities, Yang has pioneered a uniquely hilarious, unapologetically controversial, and intimately complex image of the modern Asian American and continues to incorporate strong themes influenced by his Korean, Southern, and queer backgrounds into his projects.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

We launched our own totally independent production company called Second Try, we launched our own YouTube channel and got over 5 million subscribers in just six months, and wrote a book that’s coming out this summer called “The Hidden Power of F*cking Up.” There are many things on the horizon and you can bet that they will be unapologetically Asian.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My identity is something that really shapes all the work that I do. As someone who is considered as one of the most recognizable Asian American people online, I have this unique opportunity to showcase a complex and deep and multifaceted persona. It really is a huge part of the work I do and my passion behind being a digital creator in order to make being Asian American a fully realized story line.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Besides our many fans and followers, my fellow Try Guys (Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, & Zach Kornfeld) have been huge advocates and supporters for me throughout this journey.

Eva Chen is a first-generation Taiwanese-American who grew up in New York City. She blames her deviation from pre-med at Johns Hopkins University on a love of fashion and beauty instilled in her by her mother, whose perfect bob and signature scarlet lipstick made a permanent imprint on her impressionable young mind. After interning at Harper’s Bazaar and working at ELLE, she spent seven years at Teen Vogue. In 2013, she was hired by Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour as the youngest Editor-in-Chief ever of a Condé Nast publication. She has also contributed to Vogue, Vogue China, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has been a contributor to Good Morning America and a fashion correspondent to Entertainment Tonight. She is currently the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram. Chen lives in Manhattan with her husband and two rapscallion children. Chen is adored and respected by both industry and consumers worldwide for her unforgettable style, distinct vibe, and pure élan.

Fareed Zakaria is an acclaimed global affairs journalist who hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS for CNN Worldwide, writes a column for The Washington Post, and serves as contributing editor for The Atlantic. He has been named a “Top 100 Global Thinker” by Foreign Policy magazine and has been called “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation” by Esquire magazine. Week after week, Zakaria courageously provides thoughtful analysis to important contemporary issues facing our world.

Garry Tan is the founder of Initialized Capital. He previously co-founded Posterous and Posthaven. He was also an early employee at Palantir Technologies and currently the President and CEO at Y Combinator.

Gemma Chan is a British film, television, theatre actress and former fashion model best known for her recent roles as Astrid Leong-Teo in “Crazy Rich Asians” and Minn-Erva in “Captain Marvel.”

After graduating from Worcester College, she turned down for a job at a law firm for a career in modeling and then in acting. Her parents weren’t comfortable with this choice, but the was determined to break into the industry and enrolled in the Drama Centre London, where she was scouted by British film producer Damian Jones.

Gemma has since starred on shows such as “Doctor Who,” “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” and “Sherlock.” She is also a theatre actress who has appeared on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s play “Turandot,” Anders Lustgarten’s “The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie,” David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face,” and Timberlake Wertenbaker’s “Our Ajax.”

Congresswoman Grace Meng is the first Asian American elected to Congress from New York. In Congress, she’s created the first comprehensive federal legislative agenda to promote the health of women and girls by making menstrual hygiene products safer, more affordable, and more accessible. It’s since been used as a model for state and local policy across the country. Congresswoman Meng is also Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I’m proud of the many issues I’ve championed that seek to enrich the lives of Asian Americans and highlight the contributions of the Asian American community. Some of these initiatives include working to get the House to recognize Lunar New Year, helping to establish a Lunar New Year School holiday in NYC, and honoring the Chinese immigrant laborers who helped build America’s Transcontinental Railroad. I’m proud to help empower the Asian American community to ensure our voices are heard and I want to make sure that the stories of Asian Americans continue to be told.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

Naturally, I’m honored and proud to be the first and still the only Asian American member of Congress in New York. Being an Asian American female also gives me unique perspectives and those insights help greatly in policymaking.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

My grandmother has been a huge inspiration in my career and in my journey through life. She was the first in my family to come to America and she took care of me and my siblings while my parents work. She never went to high school or college and she was never involved in politics, but she was one of the wisest people I’ve ever known. She learned English by watching soap operas! She and I became very close and the values and lessons she taught me remain with me today: the importance of being a good listener, serving your community, and treating people the way you want to be treated.

Within an incredible year and half, H.E.R. has won two Grammy Awards (2019), released two remarkable EPs, made her first U.S. television debut, sold out her first ever North American and international headlining “The Lights On Tour” in seconds, joined Bryson Tiller on his 25+ city North American “SET IT OFF TOUR,” performed at the 2019 Grammy Awards, the BET Experience concert series and most recently at Coachella. In short, the enigmatic singer/songwriter, selected as one of iHEART’s “On The Verge” artists and nominated for five Grammy Awards this year (including Best New Artist), has established herself as one of modern R&B’s most fascinating new voices—an artist with a keen skill for channeling the pain and ecstasy of life through a variety of sonic moods.

Hans Tung is a Managing Partner at GGV Capital U.S., focusing on early-stage investments across the global digital economy ecosystem. He is consistently recognized among the top venture capital investors in the world, having been named to the Forbes Midas list 11 consecutive years from 2013-2023, and has been in the top 10 for the last 5 years. He has also been recognized among the Top 100 Asian Americans by Gold House in 2018-2020. In 2023 and 2024, Hans and his team launched the Fintech Innovation 50, a list and community highlighting the rising stars in fintech innovation. He also oversees the firm’s DE&I initiatives.

Hans’ portfolio spans six cities across the U.S. as well as three continents and includes 24 unicorns or companies valued at more than $1 billion, such as Affirm, Airbnb, Coinbase, Ibotta, Peloton, Poshmark, Stock X, Stori, Vedantu, Xiaohongshu, 6Sense, and others. These companies help to democratize technology access for both consumers and businesses and recognize AI’s transformative role.

Born in Taiwan, Hans grew up in Los Angeles and attended Stanford University, graduating with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Hs spent eight years investing in Asia before returning to Silicon Valley in 2013 to join GGV Capital U.S. to focus on globally-minded founders.

As Publicis Groupe’s Chief Digital Officer, Helen Lin has been a long-time catalyst of innovation, pioneer in programmatic, collaborative business partner, and fierce champion for diversity and inclusion. Helen is responsible for driving integrated digital solutions from across the organization while leading the holding company’s broader digital strategy, partnerships, investment, and negotiations – including representing Publicis Groupe in industry-leading initiatives to continually improve the standards and brand safety on the world’s largest consumer platforms.

Previously, Helen was Chief Digital Officer for Publicis Media, where she led digital investment, global partnerships, and innovation for the network globally and helped clients remain at the forefront of the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. She also led the charge of offering in-house consulting services for Publicis Media clients – advising on their programmatic, search, and social capabilities by leveraging the expertise, scale, and proprietary tools created at Publicis.

As an established mentor and role model among her teams, Helen’s professional focus goes far beyond client and agency work. She is the founding Executive Sponsor of Publicis Media’s BRG Power of Women!, an active member for Asians in ADCOLOR and the newly formed ANA Asian American Agency Leadership, and board member for Partnership with Children – a non-profit that helps over 10,000 New York City children overcome the stresses of growing up in poverty. Helen makes it her personal mission to create conversations around female leadership and diversity in the workplace, receiving recognition as an ADCOLOR Legend, Campaign US Female Frontier winner, MediaPost Digital All-Star, Adweek Media All-Star, and Cynopsis Top Women in Digital honoree. Originally a Los Angeles native, Helen earned her bachelor’s degree at UCLA, then moved to New York in 2007 and earned her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business.

One of the most prominent names in horror, filmmaker James Wan is best known as the creator of the “Saw,” “Insidious,” and “Conjuring” franchises, which together have grossed over $2.5 billion worldwide. Recently, Wan has branched out to direct other blockbuster fare, including DC Films’ “Aquaman” (which grossed over $1.14 billion and became the highest-grossing DCEU film and highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character) and the seventh installment of “The Fast and the Furious” (the franchise’s most successful entry both critically and commercially).

Jason Momoa is an American actor and filmmaker. He made his acting debut as Jason Loane on the action drama series Baywatch: Hawaii, which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the Syfy science fiction series Stargate Atlantis, Khal Drogo in the first two seasons of the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones. He was featured as the lead of the Discovery Channel’s historical drama series Frontier, and Apple TV+’s science fiction series See.

Since 2016, Momoa portrays Arthur Curry / Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe, headlining the eponymous 2018 film and its 2023 sequel. He also has a production company, Pride of Gypsies, in which he has directed a couple of short films and his feature film debut, Road to Paloma.

Jensen Huang founded NVIDIA in 1993 and has served since its inception as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors.

Since its founding, NVIDIA has pioneered accelerated computing. The company’s invention of the GPU in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined computer graphics, and ignited the era of modern AI. NVIDIA is now driving the platform shift of accelerated computing and generative AI, transforming the world’s largest industries and profoundly impacting society.

Huang has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a recipient of the Semiconductor Industry Association’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce Award; the IEEE Founder’s Medal; the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award; and honorary doctorate degrees from Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, National Taiwan University, and Oregon State University. He has been named the world’s best CEO by Fortune, the Economist, and Brand Finance, as well as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people.

Prior to founding NVIDIA, Huang worked at LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices. He holds a BSEE degree from Oregon State University and an MSEE degree from Stanford University.

Jeremy Liew is a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, joining the firm in 2006. He invests primarily in consumer facing companies in the mobile and online space with a particular interest in video, massive-scale social media, commerce and financial services. He has been named to Forbes’ Midas List multiple times, most recently in 2016.

Jeremy’s current investments include Snapchat, The Honest Company, Giphy, Bonobos, Affirm and Mic. He was also responsible for several Lightspeed investments which have had successful exits including Playdom (acquired by Disney), Flixster (acquired by Warner Brothers), Kongregate (acquired by GameStop), Slice (acquired by Rakuten) and Serious Business (acquired by Zynga).

Previously, Jeremy was with AOL, first as SVP of corporate development and chief of staff to the CEO, and then as general manager of Netscape. Jeremy joined AOL from InterActiveCorp (originally USA Networks), where he was VP of strategic planning. While there, he was responsible for acquisitions, divestitures and investments in TV Networks, consumer Internet companies and online travel companies.

He started working in the consumer Internet industry as an early employee of CitySearch in 1996, where he held a variety of sales management, operational and business development roles. He was also a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Jeremy is currently a Co-Chair of the board of Trustees of Presidio Knolls School, a startup, progressive Mandarin-immersion school in San Francisco. It took its first intake of Elementary School students in Fall 2012.

Jeremy holds a BA/BSc from the Australian National University in Linguistics and Pure Mathematics and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Jeremy Lin and his rise to prominence spread like wildfire during February 2012, when he took over the starting point guard role for the struggling New York Knicks and began one of the most improbable journeys sports has ever seen. Suddenly, everybody was into the inspiration of Jeremy that is forever known as “Linsanity.” He became an overnight sensation with his natural basketball skills and on court charisma. He was quickly embraced worldwide and gave New Yorkers the kind of hope they hadn’t felt in years.
A native of Palo Alto, CA, Jeremy is the NBA’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. Overcoming innumerable obstacles, Jeremy’s road to the NBA was not easy—he was always overlooked and was believed to be the only California Division II Player of the Year to not receive a Division I scholarship. However, Harvard University did take notice of him, and knew he would become the vital part to their program. Jeremy helped pave the way for his Harvard team to become nationally-ranked for the first time in its history along with making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1946.
After Jeremy’s storied college career concluded, he wanted to continue to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA. When he went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, he began thinking about non-basketball careers, but was signed by his hometown Golden State Warriors for the 2010-11 season. After being cut by the Warriors, he was signed by the Houston Rockets, and ultimately cut on Christmas Day in 2011. He was then picked up by the Knicks, and after being inserted as a starter for the injury-laden team in February 2012, the rest, as they say, is history. In the course of just a few weeks, Jeremhy went from benchwarmer to international icon, by scoring a historic 136 points in his first five career starts. His magical run included scoring 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, 28 points on the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, and 27 points and a last-second game winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors. Heading into the 2012 off-season, Jeremy was a restricted free agent and was ultimately signed by the Houston Rockets. In the summer of 2014, he was traded back to his home state to the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent the 2015-16 season with the Charlotte Hornets, then signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in the summer of 2016. He was traded to Atlanta in the summer of 2018. Jeremy agreed to a buyout with the Hawks in February of 2019 and then immediately signed with the Toronto Raptors, where he currently plays.
Jeremy’s incredible story is a testament to the power of opportunity. After going undrafted and being cut by multiple teams, his triumph is proof that the last man off the bench might be a star waiting to shine. Whether this is on a basketball court or in communities throughout the world, Jeremy believes that other people and organizations are likewise ready and able to “make a difference” if given a chance. As such, he launched The Jeremy Lin Foundation at NBA All-Star 2013 with its first initiative, “The Making a Difference Project.” The campaign sought out highly-impactful, yet overlooked non-profit organizations and supported them through fundraising efforts and public exposure, helping these organizations continue their valuable work. Jeremy’s recent initiative, One Game’s Wages, included a crowd fundraising effort to empower girls around the world that are affected by poverty.

Jon M. Chu is known for his visually stunning blockbuster films, as well as his kinetic work across various genres, from groundbreaking series to commercials and films. Most recently, he directed the worldwide phenomenon “Crazy Rich Asians,” which was nominated for numerous awards, including a SAG Award, a Golden Globe, and PGA Award. The film has earned more than $175 million in the United States alone, with a worldwide gross of almost $240 million, making it one of the top 10 highest grossing romantic comedies of all time. It was the first contemporary studio picture in more than 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast, and it represents a new chapter in Chu’s 10-year career.

Chu most recently served as an executive producer and director on “Home Before Dark,” for Apple, which premiered April 3, 2020. The series was inspired by the true story of 11-year-old investigative reporter Hilde Lysiak and stars Jim Sturgess and Brooklyn Prince.

Upcoming, Chu helmed his most ambitious project to date, the highly anticipated adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical “In the Heights” for Warner Bros. Studios.

Chu’s previous credits include “Step Up 2: The Streets,” “GI. Joe: Retaliation,” “Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never” and many more representing over 1.3 billion dollars in the worldwide box office. Additionally, his unique storytelling ability has earned him the honor of being on the Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100 list as well as Variety’s New Hollywood Leaders.

In 2017, Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as a United States Senator for California, the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history. She serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Committee on the Budget.

Kamala has spent her life fighting injustice. It’s a passion that was first inspired by her mother, Shyamala, an Indian-American immigrant, activist, and breast cancer researcher. Growing up in Oakland, Kamala had a stroller-eye view of the Civil Rights movement. Through the example of courageous leaders like Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, and Charles Hamilton Houston, Kamala learned the kind of character it requires to stand up to the powerful, and resolved to spend her life advocating for those who could not defend themselves.

After earning an undergraduate degree from Howard University and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings, she began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. In 2003, Kamala became the District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco. Among her achievements as District Attorney, Harris started a program that gives first-time drug offenders the chance to earn a high school diploma and find employment.

Having completed two terms as the District Attorney of San Francisco, Kamala was elected as the first African-American and first woman to serve as California’s Attorney General. In this role, she worked tirelessly to hold corporations accountable and protect the state’s most vulnerable people. Over the course of her nearly two terms in office, Kamala won a $25-billion settlement for California homeowners hit by the foreclosure crisis, defended California’s landmark climate change law, protected the Affordable Care Act, helped win marriage equality for all Californians, and prosecuted transnational gangs that trafficked in guns, drugs, and human beings.

In the United States Senate, Kamala’s mission remains unchanged: fighting for the rights of all communities in California. Since taking office, she has introduced and cosponsored legislation to raise wages for working people, reform our broken criminal justice system, make healthcare a right for all Americans, address the epidemic of substance abuse, support veterans and military families, and expand access to childcare for working parents.

It’s the privilege of Kamala’s life to work on behalf of the people of California. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and is stepmother to Ella and Cole Emhoff.

Katrina Lake is the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service for men, women, and kids that exists to help people discover the clothes they love, that fit them and their lifestyle perfectly. Passionate about helping women achieve everyday confidence, Katrina founded Stitch Fix to help women everywhere discover and explore their style through a truly client-focused shopping experience. Stitch Fix is a service powered by machine learning and serves 3 million active clients in the US. In 2017, Katrina took Stitch Fix public; she is, to date, the youngest female founder and CEO to take a company public. In 2019, Stitch Fix ranked 5th on Fast Company’s Most Innovative List, as well as #1 under Retail.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

I am most proud of Stitch Fix’s strong and consistent performance in the public market since going public just over a year ago. We’re demonstrating our ability to deliver growth and profitability, and we’re confident in our ability to continue on this path enabled by our highly scalable personalization platform. I am also proud of our upcoming expansion into the UK, which will help grow Stitch Fix’s total addressable market, and the launch of our first brand campaign. This year we announced our plans to introduce our personalization platform to UK clients. We are excited to partner with brands to create a compelling assortment for UK men and women and leverage our existing data science capabilities to serve the unique preferences of our UK clients. Additionally, we launched our first integrated brand campaign in February to connect with new and existing clients and drive increased awareness and consideration of our brand. We see a lot of potential in adding brand to our diverse marketing mix and reinforcing why our brand matters and I look forward to the impact this will have on our business.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My family is an inspiration to me. My mom immigrated to the US for graduate school and would later help my grandmother achieve her lifelong dream of coming to America as well. I grew up in a bi-lingual, bi-cultural household where my mom only spoke Japanese and my dad spoke English, so I speak both. As kids, we’d alternate between bringing onigiri and sandwiches to school, which was normal for me. In San Francisco, I went to predominantly Asian public schools but when we moved to Minnesota in my teens, I went to a fantastic private school but was one of just a few Asian people in my class. It really changed my perspective to experience and better understand feeling like a minority and I think made me a better, stronger person as a result. I’ve been lucky to have been surrounded by role models who helped me believe in myself and where I learned by example about taking big risks to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (StubHub) Bill Gurley (Benchmark), Steve Anderson (Baseline), Sarah Friar (Square & NextDoor) + our clients!

Kelly Marie Tran has quickly become known as a captivating on-screen presence. The highly sought-after actress made The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Gen Class of 2017” list and was named one of ABC News’ “Actors to Watch” in 2018. Most recently, Tran has made history by voicing Disney’s first South-East Asian Princess with her role as Raya in Raya and the Last Dragon. Set in a fantasy land called Kumandra, the film follows Raya, a fearless warrior princess, as she saves the world from evil. The film released to critical acclaim in March 2021. Additionally, Tran serves as an Executive Producer on SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize-Winning Documentary Feature Lily Topples The World. The film follows the life of an American-Chinese adoptee who transforms into a global artistic force with over 1 billion YouTube views.

Last year, Tran voiced Dawn in DreamWorks; The Croods: A New Age, the sequel to the Oscar-nominated animated feature about a caveman family. After its release, the film earned praise from fans and critics alike for its heart and humor. Tran also starred in Hulu’s Anthology drama series Monsterland, based on the collection of stories from Nathan Ballingrud. The series premiered on Hulu in October 2020. In 2019, Tran reprised her role as Rose Tico in Star Wars: Episode IX. The film was a smash hit and grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. In 2018, Tran starred opposite Elizabeth Olsen in Facebook Watch’s critically acclaimed original series, Sorry for Your Loss. Created and written by Kit Steinkellner (Z: The Beginning of Everything), the show explores the life of a young widow as she deals with the grief of losing her husband while reconnecting with relationships from her past. Rounding out the cast are Jovan Adepo, Mamaoudou Athie, and Janet McTeer. The show returned for its second and final season in 2019. In 2017, Tran made her big-screen debut in Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi as Resistance mechanic worker, Rose Tico. Her performance and character were widely praised and made headlines across the globe as Tran became the first Asian- American woman cast in a lead role for the franchise. Episode VIII earned over $1.3 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2017. Tran’s past credits include the Netflix Original XOXO; TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything; NBC’s About a Boy and Lifetime’s Fall Into Me among others. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

The multi-talented Ken Jeong is a comedian, actor, and physician. This past year, Ken starred in “Crazy Rich Asians,” was a judge on Fox’s hit show “The Masked Singer,” and released his own Netflix comedy special, “You Complete Me, Ho.” Prior to that, Ken was best known for playing Ben Chang on the sitcom “Community” and the gangster Leslie Chow in “The Hangover” film series. He was the lead in the ABC sitcom Dr. Ken, in which he was also the creator, writer, and executive producer.

Kim Yutani was appointed Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival in 2018. She began programming short films there in 2006, and became a feature film programmer in 2009, focusing on US and international fiction feature films, overseeing short film programming, and working on the Festival’s Offscreen series of panels and conversations. She was instrumental in the creation of Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong, which she also programs. During her tenure at the Institute, she has represented Sundance internationally by serving on juries, speaking on panels, and working to cultivate relationships with film commissions, industry, and artists around the world. For the past five years, she has also overseen a new collaboration with the Berlinale’s European Film Market — housed within the Sundance Film Festival at EFM program — which has provided exposure and sales opportunities for Sundance films, immediately after premiering at the Festival.

She started her programming career at Outfest Los Angeles, one of the world’s leading LGBT festivals, where she was the Artistic Director and the Director of Programming. She was a programmer for the Provincetown International Film Festival, has been a reader for Creative Capital, and was on the short film nominating committee for Cinema Eye Honors. Prior to her film festival work, Yutani was a film critic and freelance journalist focusing on independent film. She got her start in the industry as Director Gregg Araki’s assistant.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Last year I became Director of Programming of the Sundance Film Festival, which was an exciting career step for me. Even though I felt confident about the films our team had selected and I knew the work we had done on the Festival was exceptional, I had some trepidation prior to the Festival, knowing that I would be under scrutiny in my first year. I was credited for putting together one of the most inclusive Sundance lineups the festival had seen, which was an unspoken goal of mine, but I was eager to showcase the program beyond statistics. So seeing audiences and critics and ultimately, buyers, react in an overwhelmingly positive way to films like “The Farewell,” “Late Night,” “Blinded By the Light,” and “Clemency”–films about people of color and directed by women of color, was incredible. It felt like a significant cultural and industry shift had emerged in my first year on the job.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity is something I see as an advantage because not always feeling a part of the mainstream helps me to enter experiences with empathy and an inquisitive spirit—as a programmer I feel it allows me judge the work I’m seeing in a pure way, separating my own experience from it.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Specifically this past year, I’m grateful to the Sundance programming team for their respect and for putting collaboration into action. I credit some industry friends and colleagues like Kirsten Schaffer, Trevor Groth, Kevin Iwashina, Marcus Hu, Eliza Hittman, and my partner Liz VanderVen—for encouraging me and (very politely) suggesting ways in which I could be better, and helping me shed my inhibition about being ambitious! My parents gave me the gift of travel at an early age, showed me good taste, and allowed me to pursue my interests, no matter how weird they might be.

Lilly Singh is an acclaimed YouTuber, comedian, television host and actress widely known as IISuperwomanII. In March 2019, NBC announced that Lilly would host a new late night talk show for the network, “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” which will replace “Last Call with Carson Daly.” In 2017, Lilly was ranked tenth on the Forbes list of the world’s highest paid YouTube stars and first on the 2017 Forbes Top Influencers List in the entertainment category. Lilly has received an MTV Fandom Award, four Streamy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and a People’s Choice Award. In 2016, Lilly released her first feature film, titled “A Trip to Unicorn Island.” In March 2017, she released her first book, “How to be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life,” which became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller.

Lisa Ling is an award-winning journalist who currently executive produces and hosts her own CNN Original Series, “This is Life,” which explores the far corners of America.

Before coming to CNN, Ling was a field correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and contributor to ABC News’ “Nightline” and National Geographic’s “Explorer.” She has reported from dozens of countries, covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, among other issues that are too often ignored. Ling got her start in journalism as a correspondent for Channel One News where she covered the civil war in Afghanistan at 21 years of age.

She later went on to become a co-host of ABC Daytime’s hit show “The View,” which won its first daytime Emmy during her time at the show. Ling has also served as a special correspondent for CNN’s “Planet in Peril” series and is a contributing editor for USA Today’s USA Weekend magazine. In 2011, her acclaimed documentary journalism series, “Our America” with Lisa Ling, was created and began airing on OWN.

Ling is the co-author of “Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood” and “Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home,” which she penned with her sister, Laura. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the California Museum.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

My proudest accomplishment has been completing six seasons of my documentary series “This is Life” on CNN. That’s 48 episodes of TV which is very exciting to me. I’m particularly proud of it because as we all know, we are currently amidst a period of intense vitriol and partisan rancor and hostility. And I love that we produce a show that puts something positive and constructive out into the world. We allow people to get to know and familiarize themselves and walk in the shoes of people that they probably are very different from.

Lisa Nishimura is Vice President, Original Documentary and Independent Features at Netflix. A 12-year Netflix veteran, Nishimura currently oversees the company’s original documentary slate, including features, shorts and limited series, as well as independent films. Her team strives to provide storytellers of all backgrounds with a global platform where they can share their unique narratives around the world–across geographies, languages, genders, cultures, experiences and perspectives.

The current slate of documentaries including, Miss Americana, Crip Camp, Circus of Books, Dick Johnson is Dead and Mucho Mucho Amor showcase her commitment to female documentarians and compelling storytelling. The Netflix Independent features team is responsible for films such as To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and Liz Garbus’ Lost Girls. Some upcoming titles include Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things, ensemble gothic-western The Devil All The Time as well as recent global acquisitions such as Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog and star-studded Enola Holmes.

Under her leadership, original documentary features and shorts have earned four Academy Awards and fifteen Academy Award nominations. American Factory was the 2020 Oscar winner for Documentary Film, Period.End of Sentence. was the 2019 Oscar winner for Documentary (short), Icarus was the 2018 Oscar winner for Documentary Film, and The White Helmets was the 2017 Oscar winner for Documentary (short). Nominations include The Square (2013), Virunga (2014), What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015), Winter on Fire (2015), Extremis (2016),13th (2016), which also earned an Emmy and BAFTA Award, Strong Island (2018), Heroin(e) (2018), End Game (2018), The Edge of Democracy (2019) and Life Overtakes Me (2019). The documentary Quincy won a Grammy Award (2019) for best Music Film and Homecoming (2019) a film by Beyonce Knowles Carter earned six Emmy nominations and won Best Music Film at the 2020 Grammy Award. Nishimura’s team also is responsible for the production of celebrated documentary series including the Emmy Award-winning series Making a Murderer and Wild Wild Country and 2018 Emmy Nominated Chef’s Table, and Somebody Feed Phil. Other critically acclaimed documentary series include The Keepers, Wormwood, Last Chance U, Ugly Delicious and Abstract: The Art of Design.

Manny Maceda is the worldwide managing partner of Bain & Company. He is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s strategy, team and operations across Bain’s global network of 50+ offices. Manny leads the firm in its mission to deliver the best client results in the management consulting industry. Additionally, Manny is a member of the Board of Directors of Bain & Company and formally led Bain’s Global Full Potential Transformation Group. He originally joined Bain in 1988.

Manny’s past roles include Chairman of the Asia-Pacific region and Global leader of Bain’s Performance Improvement practice, Reengineering practice and global recruiting team. He has served on the firm’s Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Global Operating Committee.

Manny specializes in working with large corporate transformations involving strategy, growth, cost reduction, performance improvement and organizational effectiveness. He has worked with clients in financial services, industrial products, consumer products, retail, telecommunications, energy, technology and transportation. He has most recently been the lead Bain partner in support of transformation client relationships at a global computing company, a global e-commerce player, an Asia-Pacific communications company, a global hotel chain and a global sports apparel company.

Manny holds an MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS in Chemical Engineering (magna cum laude) from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Bain, he worked with E.I. Du Pont de Nemours in the Engineering Plastics Group and with Unocal Corporation in Refinery Process Engineering.

Manny is a member of the Advisory Board of the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Mark Tatum was appointed NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer on Feb. 1, 2014, following unanimous approval by the NBA Board of Governors. He joined the NBA in 1999 and is currently responsible for the NBA’s business operations, including leading the NBA’s international efforts. He also oversees the Global Partnerships, Marketing, Communications and Team Marketing and Business Operations departments in addition to the NBA G League.

Since becoming Deputy Commissioner and COO, Mark has been instrumental in many historic initiatives including the first NBA game in Africa, the launch of seven NBA Academies around the world for youth and elite development, and the debut of the Jr. NBA Global Championship, a first-of-its-kind global youth basketball tournament. Additionally, Mark spearheaded the NBA’s groundbreaking jersey sponsorship program to feature corporate logos on team jerseys, established an entitlement partnership with Gatorade for the NBA G League, and secured a global merchandising and marketing partnership with Nike, making it the exclusive oncourt uniform and apparel provider of the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League.

In 2016, Mark was named to Forbes’ list of the Top 25 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. SportsBusiness Journal named him to its list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business in 2014 and 2015. For three straight years (2006, 2007 and 2008), he was also honored by the SportsBusiness Journal with a Forty Under 40 Award, making him an entrant into the publication’s Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame.

Mark sits on numerous boards including USA Basketball, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, LA 2028 Summer Olympics, and the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors. He is Chair of the Harvard Business School Club of New York and a member of the Executive Leadership Council, a national organization that empowers African-American corporate leaders to make impactful contributions.

He received a B.S. in Business Management from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Melanie Perkins is CEO and co-founder of Canva, an online visual communication and collaboration platform with a mission to empower the whole world to design. Since launching in 2013, Canva has grown to over 110 million users across more than 190 countries, with more than 15 billion designs created.

Melanie started her first company at the age of 19, creating an online design tool for creating school yearbooks. As the company grew and design became an increasingly universal need across almost every industry, Melanie went on to launch what would later become the first version of Canva.

In 2021, Melanie launched the Canva Foundation, announcing her commitment to donate the vast majority of her wealth and equity in Canva for philanthropic causes.

Michelle Lee is the Editor in Chief of Allure. Since taking the helm in 2015, she has transformed Allure into an innovative, multi-faceted brand that champions diversity and challenges old-fashioned beauty standards. She was named Adweek’s Editor of the Year in 2017, while Allure was named Magazine of the Year for their groundbreaking covers, such as the July 2017 This Is American Beauty cover featuring model Halima Aden in a hijab and their September 2017 oath to ban the term “anti-aging” from their lexicon, which sparked global conversation about how we speak about aging.

She’s been a vocal advocate for Asian-American representation, featuring stars like Gemma Chan and Naomi Osaka on Allure’s cover, and made history in June 2018 with a trailblazing cover featuring three Asian models.

As host of The Allure Podcast, she’s often highlighted AAPI issues in conversations with Awkwafina, Prabal Gurung, Phillip Lim, Patrick Ta, Gemma Chan, and more.

Prior to Allure, she was Editor in Chief of NYLON and has held senior positions at Glamour and Mademoiselle, among others.

She sits on the Board at ColorComm, was awarded a 2019 ColorComm Circle Award, and was named to Digiday’s Glossy 50, and Create & Cultivate’s Creative 100 in 2017.

Michelle Yeoh is an internationally recognized Malaysian-born actress who rose to fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films before going on to shatter convention and star in a myriad of globally acclaimed blockbusters.

Having appeared in more than 70 features and television series, the former Bond girl’s filmography is a collection of iconic roles, from Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON 1 & 2 and Rob Marshall’s MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, to Roger Spottiswoode’s TOMORROW NEVER DIES, Danny Boyle’s SUNSHINE, and Jon Chu’s romantic comedy, CRAZY RICH ASIANS, the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. of the past 10 years. After appearing in James Gunn’s second installment of the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY franchise, Yeoh returned to the Marvel universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s SHANG-CHI.

In 2022 alone, Yeoh starred in the Daniels’ original sci-fi feature for A24, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, for which she was the first Asian actor to win the Academy Award for Performance by a Leading Actress. She was also in James Cameron’s AVATAR sequel and Paul Feig’s THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL for Netflix, an adaptation of the bestselling book. Other credits included voicing roles in the animated comedy features, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU for Universal and Paramount’s PAWS OF FURY.

Next, she will be reuniting with Destin Daniel Cretton in Disney+’s AMERICAN BORN CHINESE and starring in Netflix’s upcoming limited series, THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN.

Yeoh has recently been featured in both TIME100 and the BBC’s 100 Women list of 2020. And in 2016, Yeoh was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations, focusing on raising awareness and mobilizing support for environmental issues.

Actress, writer, and producer Mindy Kaling first rose to fame on the workplace sitcom “The Office” in 2005, where she was both an actress and writer. Her work earned her six Emmy Award nominations. Bolstered by its success, Kaling went on to develop her own series, “The Mindy Project,” which debuted in the fall of 2012, making it the first sitcom in TV history to star an Indian American. In addition to writing, producing, and starring in her own show, Kaling has made multiple appearances in several hit films. She’s appeared in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Unaccompanied Minors,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” “A Wrinkle In Time,” “Ocean’s 8,” and the upcoming “Late Night” (which she also wrote, produced, and sold to Amazon for $13 million); while lending her voice to animated films like “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Inside Out.” In addition to her work in film and television, Kaling has written two New York Times best-selling memoirs, titled “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)” (2011) and “Why Not Me?” (2015).

Naomi Osaka is the reigning champion in women’s singles at the Australian Open and US Open, where she defeated 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final to become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. Naomi is currently ranked No. 1 in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), making her the first Asian player–man or woman–to hold the top ranking in singles.

Nathan Chen caught the eyes of many skating fans when he burst onto the scene in 2010 at the age of 10 years old, winning his first U.S. Figure Skating National Championship as a novice level skater. Since then he has continued to wow fans and judges as he competed in the Junior and Senior level and smashing records as he rose to stardom.

Nathan was heavily favorited going into the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games–he, along with his fellow teammates, took home the bronze team medal and in his individual event finished fourth place. His individual performances didn’t bring him the gold but his free skate performance smashed records that will probably never be broken: being the first skater to attempt and land six quadruple jumps in one program at the Olympics and skating a performance that will be remembered forever.

One month after the Olympics at the World Championships in 2018, Nathan broke another record, being the first skater to land eight quadruple jumps in a competition and claiming his first World Title. Now as a freshman at Yale, Nathan recently claimed his second World Title.

At the age of only 19 years old he has made an indelible mark in the sport of figure skating and is no doubt the future of men’s figure skating for the years to come.

Neeraj Khemlani is an experienced media executive and investor operating at the intersection of digital, media and technology. He oversees Hearst’s investments in entertainment companies: cable networks like ESPN and the A+E Networks (A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime); digital video entertainment companies like Complex Networks; cable television and digital video production through NorthSouth Productions; subscription video on demand services for emerging markets through iflix; streaming music publishing and platform services through Kobalt Music, and comics syndication and character licensing through King Features.

He serves on the boards of A+E Networks, NorthSouth, Complex Networks, iflix, Kobalt Music and is a senior vice president and member of the board of directors of Hearst.

Neeraj’s diverse background across journalism (he began his career in network news, producing stories for the late Peter Jennings at ABC News and then Dan Rather, the late Bob Simon, Steve Kroft and other correspondents at “60 Minutes”) and digital technologies (prior to Hearst, Khemlani was vice president and general manager of Yahoo! News & Information as well as head of Yahoo! Originals) has molded Khemlani into one of the savviest and most forward-looking pioneers in media.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Working with the leaders of companies shaping the future of media streaming. Whether it’s investing in ESPN’s efforts to grow its new digital video subscription service, or Kobalt’s platform to empower artists and songwriters in the rapidly changing music business, or the storytellers at Complex to create digital video formats that routinely garner audiences larger than many television shows, I am proud to be a part of incredible teams who take nothing for granted and know their work is shaping the future of the industry one day at a time.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

I was born in Singapore, the crossroads of Southeast Asia, with large Indian, Malay and Chinese populations—all disciplined to focus on family and the future. That, combined with my Indian background and American upbringing that focused on the power of equality, patriotism and the first amendment, has helped me become a global citizen with some of the best attributes of both East and West.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Being part of a strong management team that is committed to investing in the future and thoughtful and deliberate about the risks it’s willing to take. I’m constantly inspired by Steve Swartz (CEO of Hearst) and Frank Bennack (Executive Vice Chairman of Hearst). They have taught me about the importance of having a diversity of management teams, long-lasting commitment to our partners, and the relentless pursuit of strong talent, product and business models for the future. The team at “60 Minutes” taught me the art of storytelling and how to make a larger impact on the world. Paul Buccieri at A+E is a model on how to tactically improve businesses on every line item all the time. Jimmy Pitaro at ESPN is an incredible partner and is committed to delivering the best sports content to fans everywhere. And most importantly, my wife, Heather Cabot, and my children, Ian and Samantha, remind me every day what it is all really about.

With nearly two decades of experience in the motion picture industry, Nina Yang Bongiovi has gained a positive reputation for having an in-depth knowledge of film financing, creative and physical producing, and a knack for discovering talent, like that of Ryan Coogler (Marvel’s “Black Panther”), whose first film, “Fruitvale Station” (2013) was produced by Nina and her producing partner, Forest Whitaker. Together under their banner, Significant Productions, Nina and Forest have produced a number of critically-acclaimed films by auteur filmmakers of color, including “Dope” (2015) by Rick Famuyiwa, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (2015) by Chloe Zhao, “Roxanne Roxanne” (2018) by Michael Larnell and “Sorry To Bother You” (2018) by Boots Riley.

Nina’s mission is to create opportunities and inclusivity for underserved and underrepresented storytellers by producing culturally significant films and television shows. She is currently executive producing the premium series, “Godfather of Harlem,” which will premiere on EPIX this fall. She’s also in active development of the Angela Davis feature biopic with Lionsgate alongside a slate of projects that she loves.

Nina is a board member of Film Independent, The Oscar Grant Foundation, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), The Producers Guild of America (PGA), as well as a member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ (AMPAS) Producers Branch. She is fluent in Mandarin, Chinese, and received her graduate degree in Entertainment Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California.

In the last year, what has been your proudest accomplishment?

Launching Boots Riley’s revolutionary movie, “Sorry to Bother You.” To see Boots thriving as a filmmaker today makes me super proud.

How has your ethnic identity impacted you personally or your career?

My ethnic identity has impacted my career because I have a very different perspective pursuing a career in film entertainment. We’re the underdogs that fly under the radar, and when excellent films are launched [since “Fruitvale Station”], people are often surprised that an Asian American woman is the lead producer behind these movies that shifted culture.

Who are some of your biggest supporters and trusted advocates throughout your journey?

Biggest supporters (aside from my loved ones) are Forest Whitaker and couple of my close friends who’s seen me struggle but persevere through it all.

Hailed by The New York Times as “a songwriter of rather astonishing purity,” Olivia Rodrigo took up piano at age seven and began crafting her own lyrics at 12. On her record-breaking, culture-defining debut album SOUR, she offered up a wildly resonant account of her very first heartbreak. Featuring her 5x Platinum breakthrough single “drivers license,” SOUR made history as the longest-running debut album on the Billboard 200 top 10 this century, landed at No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of 2021 list, and earned Rodrigo three GRAMMY® awards.

At 20, she released her highly anticipated second album GUTS – a body of work that magnified the raw power of her genre-bending sound while delving deeper into her vast and vivid inner world. Rodrigo reunited with SOUR producer Daniel Nigro to record GUTS which was praised as an “instant classic” by Rolling Stone, a “masterpiece” by the Los Angeles Times and “bitingly charismatic” by Pitchfork. An auspicious introduction to the next era of Rodrigo’s career, GUTS’ lead single “vampire” revealed her profound evolution as a lyricist. In July 2023, the song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and returned to the top spot in September 2023 – coinciding with the No. 1 debut of GUTS on the Billboard 200 and Olivia on the Artist 100, thereby giving Rodrigo a chart triple. GUTS also topped the album charts in over thirteen countries including the UK, Canada, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

In 2023, Olivia released “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By). “Can’t Catch Me Now” marks Rodrigo’s first contribution to a film soundtrack. “Can’t Catch Me Now,” which won 2023 Hollywood Music In Media Award for SciFi/Fantasty Film, was shortlisted for 2024 Oscars and nominated for a SCL Award for “Outstanding Original Song For A Dramatic Or Documentary Visual Media Production.”

Padma Lakshmi is an Emmy-nominated producer, television host, food expert, and a New York Times best-selling author and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People (2023).

She is the creator of the critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated Hulu series “Taste the Nation”, which is the recipient of a James Beard Foundation Award top prize in Visual Media – Long Form. Lakshmi served as host and executive producer for 19 seasons of Bravo’s two-time Emmy-winning series “Top Chef”, which has been nominated for 47 Emmys, including her five-time nomination for Outstanding Host for A Reality-Competition Program.

Lakshmi is co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) and an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Artist Ambassador for immigrants’ rights and women’s rights. Lakshmi was also appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

She established herself as a food expert early in her career, hosting two successful cooking shows: “Padma’s Passport”, and “Planet Food” and writing the best-selling Easy Exotic, which won the Best First Book award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Lakshmi followed this with the publication of her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet and her memoir The New York Times best-selling Love, Loss and What We Ate. She later published The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs. In August of 2021 she published her first children’s book Tomatoes for Neela which was also a New York Times bestseller.

Additionally, Lakshmi is a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has received the 2018 Karma Award from Variety, the 2016 NECO Ellis Island Medal of Honor, as well as a TIME Impact Award in 2023. Just when she thought her modeling days were behind her, she graced the pages of Sports Illustrated Magazine’s Swimsuit Edition in 2023.

As Creative Director and Co-Founder of his eponymous label, Phillip Lim sits at the helm of a now 14-year-old pioneering modern luxury brand.

Lim was born in Thailand in 1973 to Chinese immigrants who fled to Southern California to escape Cambodia’s civil war. Upon arriving in California, his mother found work as a seamstress and his father became a professional poker player. Lim studied finance at California State University Long Beach, but after 3 years, switched his focus to a degree in home economics.

A weekend job at Barneys Beverly Hills led to an internship with Katayone Adeli, and eventually, a position on her design team. When Adeli relocated to New York, Lim remained in Los Angeles and co-founded his first label, Development. After four years at Development, Lim relocated to New York to launch 3.1 Phillip Lim, his most personal collection to date, with business partner and friend, Wen Zhou.

Lim is recognized as one of the most talented and successful young American designers and is the recipient of several prestigious industry honors including the Fashion Group International’s Women’s Designer ‘Rising Star’ Award, the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear, the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear, and the CFDA Award for Accessories Designer of the Year.

Prabal Gurung launched his eponymous collection in February 2009 with a philosophy encompassing modern luxury, indelible style and an astute sense of glamour.

Gurung was born in Singapore and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. After beginning his design career in New Delhi, he moved to New York to finish his studies at Parsons The New School for Design. Upon graduating, Gurung spent two years with Cynthia Rowley’s design and production teams. Soon after, he was appointed design director at the iconic Bill Blass, a post he held for five years until launching his own collection, PRABAL GURUNG.

A focus on quality and innovation has placed Gurung at the forefront of American fashion with designs worn by leading ladies including First Lady Michelle Obama and The Duchess of Cambridge, to name a few. Notable accolades include the 2010 Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award, 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund runner up, USA Network’s Character Approved Award recipient in 2011, named goodwill ambassador of Maiti Nepal, a finalist of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, recipient of the 2011 CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear and was honored in 2015 with the inaugural Creativity Award from The Drawing Center. Gurung was the official 2013 designer collaborator for Target, launched a product collaboration with MAC Cosmetics in 2014, collaborated on a collection with TOMS to support Shikshya Foundation Nepal in 2016, launched a capsule with Lane Bryant in February 2017 and was named the Global Creative Director of Tasaki in September 2017. In November 2019, Gurung was named the first ever Honorary Designer of the National Portrait Gallery Celebration at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and published his first coffee table book.

Prabal Gurung chooses to manufacture in New York city to uphold standards of quality while supporting the local community. With over 80% of the collection made in New York, Prabal Gurung is committed to sustaining domestic employment and income. The brand recognizes the importance of domestic production, particularly in respect to the quality of the finished product and helps to bring this awareness to an international audience.

Priyanka Chopra is one of the few international stars who’s successfully crossed over to multiple cross-cultural audiences. Born in Jamshedpur, India, she won the Miss India pageant while still in high school, soon followed by becoming one of five Indian women to become Miss World in 2000. Priyanka has starred in over 50 international films, and is currently most recognized for her breakthrough lead performance in ABC’s “Quantico” and in supporting roles in recent films such as “Baywatch and “Isn’t It Romantic.”

As a philanthropist, she has worked with UNICEF since 2006 and was appointed as the national and global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016, respectively. She continues to promote social causes such as environment, health and education, and women’s rights, and is vocal about gender equality and feminism.

Radhika Jones is Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair magazine and the first person of color to be named to the post since the magazine was founded in 1913. She formerly served as the editorial director for the books department at The New York Times, deputy managing editor of TIME (where she managed the TIME 100 and Person of the Year efforts), and the managing editor of The Paris Review. A cultural omnivore who’s deeply versed in books, art, politics, and more, Radhika holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia.

Ramsey Naito is President of Animation for Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation.

As President of Animation for Paramount Animation, a role which she assumed in September 2021, Naito oversees all of the animation group’s operations from development through release. Naito previously served as Executive Vice President of Paramount Animation in 2018 before assuming her role as Executive Vice President of Animation Production and Development at Nickelodeon Animation.

At Nickelodeon, Naito oversees animation content across all formats and platforms–spanning linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical motion pictures and SVOD. Since joining the network in 2018, Naito has since overseen a renaissance at the studio of animation content and production in scale and creativity.

Naito produced DreamWorks Animation’s Oscar®-nominated feature, The Boss Baby, while also earning her a PGA nomination for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures. Prior to DreamWorks Animation, Ramsey worked as a producer for Blue Sky Studios, at Cartoon Network as Head of Movies and at Nickelodeon Movies as Vice President of Development & Production. Her executive and producer credits include: Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009), Barnyard (2006), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002), Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002), the Oscar®-nominated Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).

Naito is a member of Women in Animation, the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art and her Master of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts.

Ronny is a stand-up comedian, actor and Correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He starred in Crazy Rich Asians, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Disney’s Doogie Kamealoha M.D, NBC’s Young Rock, Godzilla vs Kong and Bliss. He has two stand up comedy specials on Netflix.

The daughter of Korean immigrants, Oh started her performance career as a child. She attended the National Theatre School of Canada, and at age 19 had her breakthrough role in the television biopic “The Diary of Evelyn Lau” (1993). Her performance garnered a Gemini nomination and the 1994 Cannes FIPA d’Or for Best Actress. In 1996, Oh moved to Los Angeles to join the cast of HBO’s comedy “Arli$$”. Roles in films like “Under the Tuscan Sun” (2003) and “Sideways” (2004) followed.

Sandra then landed the role of Dr. Cristina Yang in the hit TV series “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005), which garnered her numerous award nominations over the course of her 10 years on the show. And just this year, she hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

Sandra just finished starring as the lead actress in BBC America’s spy drama, “Killing Eve,” for which she has won numerous awards at the Critics’ Choice, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

As CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella has transformed not only the business strategy, but also the culture of the fading desktop software behemoth into a relevant technology leader again. The company’s strategy now emphasizes cloud computing and collaboration, and its products are built with empathy for the user at the forefront. Since Satya has taken the helm, Microsoft has generated more than $400 billion in market value in four years. He is widely respected for his affability and collaborative style.

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Beginning his pro baseball career in Japan, he was drafted by and played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2013 until 2017.

Breaking records and stereotypes, Ohtani had a standout year in 2021, garnering global acclaim and recognition from everyone, including the MLB commissioner for his gameplay during the season. He became the first two-way player in the history of Major League Baseball with 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher in the same season while also holding at least a share of the major league lead in home runs in fourteen starts. During the 2021 All-Star Game, he also became the first player in MLB history to be an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter.

Yeun Sang-yeop, known professionally as Steven Yeun, is a South Korean-born American actor.

Yeun initially rose to prominence for his roles as Glenn Rhee in the television series The Walking Dead (2010–2016) and Ben in the film Burning (2018). The latter earned him critical acclaim and several accolades. He also starred in and executive produced Minari (2020), earning him critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first Asian American actor to receive this honor. He also became the first Asian-American actor to be nominated at the Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

Yeun has also appeared in the films I Origins (2014), Okja (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), The Humans (2021) and Nope (2022), and has voiced main characters in television series such as Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016–2018), Tales of Arcadia (2016–2021), Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters (2017–2018), Final Space (2018–2021), Tuca & Bertie (2019–2022), and Invincible (2021–present).

Sun Choe is the Chief Product Officer at lululemon athletica inc., an athletic apparel company, where she leads the merchandising and design teams for the company. Ms. Choe joined lululemon in 2016 as the Senior Vice President, Global Merchandising and has been instrumental in elevating merchandising capabilities, partnering with design leadership and innovation to deliver the lululemon vision to guests through best in class product assortments. Prior to joining lululemon, Ms. Choe served as Chief Global Product Merchant at Marc Jacobs and worked in multi-channel merchandising at brands including West Elm, Madewell, Urban Outfitters. She has a proven track record of delivering results and developing great teams. Ms. Choe received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park.

Sundar Pichai is CEO of Google Inc. Prior to ascending to CEO, Sundar is credited with leading the product management and innovation efforts of Google’s client software, most notably Google Chrome, Chrome OS, and Google Drive that he shepherded into global prominence. He also oversaw Android, the world’s largest mobile operating system.

Sundar is widely loved for his collaborative decision making style and approachability, likely stemming from his humble beginnings. His mother, Lakshmi, was a stenographer and his father, Regunatha, was an electrical engineer at GEC, the British conglomerate. Sundar grew up in a two-room apartment in Ashok Nagar, Chennai and is now reportedly worth over $1.2 billion.

Taika Waititi is an Academy Award and GRAMMY-winning writer, director, actor, and producer. His film JOJO RABBIT received six Oscar ® nominations, including Best Picture, and earned him an Oscar ® for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film, which was released by Searchlight Pictures, was also nominated for a Golden Globe ® for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, among other accolades. Previously, Waititi directed the critically-acclaimed blockbuster THOR: RAGNAROK for Disney, as well as the beloved indie films HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, BOY, and the Oscar®-nominated short film TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT. He also executive produced through his production company with Carthew Neal, Piki Films, THE BREAKER UPPERS, BABY, DONE, and the first Indigenous Canadian/New Zealand co-production, NIGHT RAIDERS, which premiered at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.

Waititi is currently in post-production on NEXT GOAL WINS for Searchlight Pictures, which he wrote, directed, and produced, based on the 2015 documentary of the same name, as well as THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER, which will be released on July 8, 2022. The highly-anticipated film, written and directed by Waititi, stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Natalie Portman. Previously, Waititi was seen in Shawn Levy’s FREE GUY from 20th Century Studios, alongside Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, and Joe Keery.

For television, Waititi is the co-creator and executive producer of the Indigenous American teen comedy RESERVATION DOGS for FX, for which he co-wrote the first episode with co-creator Sterlin Harjo. The series has been well-received, winning the 2021 Gotham Award for Short-Form Breakthrough Series and the 2022 Independent Spirit Award for Best New Scripted Series, as well as earning nominations for this year’s Critic’s Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards ®, and Writers Guild of America Awards. On screen, Waititi stars as “Blackbeard” in the HBO Max period comedy OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH. He is also the executive producer for the series and directed the pilot episode which debuted on the streaming platform this March. Additionally, Waititi directed the season one finale of THE MANDALORIAN for Disney+, in which he also voices “IG-11,” and serves as executive producer on the critically-acclaimed TV adaptation of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, for which he’s directed several episodes.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Duckworth as assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2012, she was elected to Congress, representing Illinois’ 8th District, making her the first differently-abled woman ever to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Four years later, she was elected a U.S. senator, thereby becoming the first differently-abled woman and the second Asian-American woman in the Senate. In April 2018, Duckworth became the first female senator to give birth while holding office.

While attending Northern Illinois University for a Ph.D. in political science, Duckworth enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps with the Illinois Army National Guard. Trained as a Blackhawk pilot, Duckworth left NIU in 2004 to Iraq. There, Duckworth flew Operation Iraqi Freedom combat missions until her helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in the autumn of 2004. The explosion took both of Duckworth’s legs and robbed her of full function in her right arm. Still believing in the worthiness of her mission amid questions of whether she felt her sacrifice was for naught, Duckworth responded, “I was hurt in service for my country. I was proud to go. It was my duty as a soldier to go. And I would go tomorrow.” For her bravery and service, she was promoted to major and awarded the Purple Heart.

A third culture child, Duckworth grew up in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Hawaii.

Tina Tchen serves as president and CEO of TIME’S UP Now and the TIME’S UP Foundation, overseeing the organizations’ strategic plans to change culture, companies, and laws in order to make work safe, fair, and dignified for women of all kinds. In 2017, Tina co-founded the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund with Robbie Kaplan, Fatima Goss Graves, and Hilary Rosen; since then, the Fund has connected more than 4,000 people to legal or PR support for sexual harassment across dozens of different industries.

A former assistant to President Barack Obama, executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and chief of staff to First Lady Michelle Obama, Tina has worked for decades to advance gender equality, particularly for working women. At the White House, Tina spearheaded the first-ever White House Summit on Working Families and helped form the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.

Prior to taking the helm at TIME’S UP, Tina was a lawyer specializing in workplace culture, advising companies on gender inequity, sexual harassment, and diversity. She has served on numerous strategic advisory boards for organizations, businesses, and nonprofits, including the United State of Women, which she continues to co-chair.

Tony Xu is the CEO and Co-founder of DoorDash, a technology company passionate about transforming local businesses and dedicated to enabling new ways of working, earning, and living. Born in China, Tony came to America with his parents and grew up working in his mom’s restaurant. He started DoorDash to help small business owners succeed. Prior to co-founding DoorDash in 2013, Tony worked in Product at Square, led special projects for the CEO and CFO at eBay, and began his career at McKinsey and Company. He holds a B.S. with high honors in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Founded in 2013, DoorDash is the the largest and fastest-growing local commerce platform, operating in more than 7,000 cities across the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Germany.