CEI Newsletter | Spring/Summer 2023 Edition
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Dear , |
We hope your summer is off to a great start! We are happy to announce that we will be launching Cohort 6 of the Corporate Executive Leadership Program (CELP) in October 2023. Please help us promote the program and encourage your colleagues and friends to apply. The Corporate Executive Initiative meeting took place on Friday, 6/23/23. The Executive Leadership team discussed planning activities for the next six months as well as program and initiative workstream updates such CELP, Thought Leadership, Power Networking, Ascend Pinnacle Summit, and the launch of a new program, Ascend Aspiring Executive Academy. The key takeaways of the meeting included: applying lessons learned and feedback from CELP Cohort 5 to Cohort 6, improving marketing/communications to promote CEI efforts, identifying additional topics for Thought Leadership podcasts and articles, and ways to encourage networking/connections with the broader Pan-Asian community. In addition, there were a lot of events that occurred in the past couple months, and we hope you enjoy reading the recap of these events in this newsletter. Sincerely, Winson |
EVENT RECAP
Ascend Pinnacle Asian Corporate Directors Summit Recap Ascend Pinnacle hosted the 7th Annual Asian Corporate Directors Summit on April 27-28 in Palo Alto, CA followed up by a multicultural gala dinner. This annual Summit is the largest gathering of Pan-Asian corporate board directors from across the nation. The summit theme: Embracing the Future gathered Pan-Asian board directors from Fortune 1000 and large private companies to establish and nurture the network of Pan-Asian corporate board members who have a common interest of increasing diversity in boardrooms, mentoring the next generation of senior executives, and elevating awareness of Pan-Asian contributions in governance. See the speakers list here and watch the summit highlights here.
Ascend held the annual A-List Awards Gala on April 3 in New York City to recognize Pan-Asian business leaders around the country. Ascend A-List Awards give visibility to the contributions of accomplished and impactful business leaders, elevating their profiles within their companies, their industries and their communities while spotlighting the business case for the continuous pipeline of Pan-Asian talent across North America. Proceeds from the event benefit Ascend Foundation's programs and initiatives. View the video highlight here and see the A-List Honorees here.
Greater Washington Area Ascend President, Zach Heng was recently invited to join a virtual panel hosted by LinkedIn to talk about all things career-related to close out AAPI Heritage Month. The conversations involved wide-ranging conversation on the challenges and opportunities facing AAPI professionals today and how leaning into your community can be the key to furthering your career.  THOUGHT LEADERSHIPFrom Guangzhou to DC: A Conversation with Angeline Mai Angeline Mai is a tax managing director with over 18 years of experience in the industry. She is a national subject matter expert in taxation of debt instruments and financial products, specializing in corporate bonds, syndicated debts, mortgage loan and consumer credit pools, structures financial products (e.g. MBS, ABS, etc.) and various types of securitization vehicles (e.g. REMIC, Grantor Trust, partnership, WHFIT, CFC, PFICs, etc.). Angeline is also a national subject matter expert on fixed income products for cost basis reporting. She has served numerous significant credit investors in the financial industry, such as investment management funds, banks, mortgage REITs. Insurance companies, RICs, securitization issuers and trustees, etc. Listen to the podcast episode here to get to know more about Angeline’s career journey, advice for leadership development, and more!
Q&A with Linda Cai: AAPI Leadership, Equity & Elevating Diverse Communities Our President Anna Mok had the privilege of speaking with Linda Jingfang Cai, VP, Talent Development at LinkedIn, to delve into her professional journey, the challenges she faced, diversity versus equity for minorities and how we can uplift our communities everyday, beyond AAPI Heritage Month. Read the full interview here.
The launch of 2023 CELP will be coming soon! Last year’s cohort was a success and 14 senior managers or equivalent from across the industry graduated from the CELP. This year’s tentative dates are below. If you know a colleague who might be interested in the 2023 CELP, please have them check our Ascend CEI website for more details!
EVENTS, ACTIVITIES, & OPPORTUNITIES | SOLD OUT - 2023 Ascend National Convention When: July 17-19, 2023 This year’s convention will be hosted by Ascend Austin Chapter, anchored by the theme of iAscend. There are new installments that include the Wellness Lounge, Ascend’s Got Talent, and our inaugural Aspiring Executive Academy. The convention is sold out. If you would like to participate virtually, you can still register here. Look forward to seeing those attending in Austin.
Aspiring Executive Academy at 2023 Ascend National Convention Ascend is thrilled to launch the new program, the Aspiring Executive Academy (AEA), at this year's Convention in Austin. Nominate yourself or someone you know to have an opportunity to engage with industry leaders, connect with peers, and prepare for a C-Suite role. Apply today! Nominate yourself or a colleague to the Aspiring Executive Academy at the 2023 Ascend National Convention. If selected, participants be granted a program tuition of $4,500, which includes full admission into the 2023 Ascend Convention. Please note that program participants are responsible for their own lodging and transportation costs. |
JOB OPPORTUNITY: Ascend Thought Leadership Research Assistant Do you know any colleague looking to get involved in AAPI work? Ascend is hiring a remote-based Thought Leadership Research Assistant. For more information about the role, visit here. |
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We will publish a quarterly CEI newsletter to keep you up to date on upcoming meetings, requests, opportunities to participate and more. We welcome your feedback on any CEI activities in this upcoming year. Do you have an exciting life event to share? Did you take on a new role? We would love to know more about each of you as we grow this community, so please send any photos and information to us. Thank you for your continued commitment to the advancement of our Pan-Asian colleagues. |
Ascend A-List Awards Recap 
AAPI Heritage Month Virtual Event Recap
Report: The Diversity-Equity Gap In The Fortune 500: Too Few Racial Minority Executives The Ascend thought leadership group released a report titled, “The Diversity-Equity Gap In The Fortune 500: Too Few Racial Minority Executives.” The Ascend thought leadership leverages the power of research, thought leadership, and development to advance API equity in the corporate sector and beyond. Read the report 
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