Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Corih Kim
On July 31, 2014, The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) and the Coalition of Asian American Business Organizations hosted the 2014 Awards Gala and Leadership Conference to recognize the leaders who dedicate themselves to promoting the welfare of Asian American and Pacific Islander community, and provide network of support for students at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.
The Conference held two panels dedicated to the development of Asian communities, attended by students from all over the world. The second panel titled as “Advocacy of Asian American Business and Entrepreneurship” Hosted by Mark Keam (Delegate, VA-D), Jimmy Ferguson (Chairman of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship), David Ho (President of the Marietta Management Service Corp), and David Lin (Vice President of the Public Affairs & Advocacy, IW Group, Inc.) focused on promoting well being of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities through public service, civic awareness, and community service.
Mark Keam (VA-D, Delegate) focused on what he called the six E’s – Education Opportunity, Economic Opportunity, Equal Opportunity, Environment, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship. He stated that education, economic, and equal opportunities are what drive immigration by Asians, as often, those without connections have difficult time obtaining good education or career in relationship-based cultures like Asia. As such opportunities are better leveraged in the US, he stated that this posed as a great opportunity for success for many Asian Americans, who are often encouraged to work hard. He then stated that to become successful, one must be able to utilize the environment, such as legal and social boundaries and protection, engineering (creating a business model that works), and entrepreneurship (acting on the business model to launch a successful business) to create a successful business in a competitive world of today.
Mr. Ho focused mainly on taking new challenges and seeking answers, as those difficult areas are where Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders can truly succeed.
Mr. Lin focused on the word “advocacy,” defining it as involvement in the political, social, and economic sphere to instill change in policy or develop new law and standard, as a crucial lynchpin in business development in today’s society, as competition from foreign and domestic businesses become fiercer. He stated that planning advocacy into the business plan model for every business allows risk management, future-proofing, and for better management of resources. He noted his work at AT&T high speed broadband and the receptiveness of Asian-American communities to new technology, stating that as early adopters, Asian and Pacific communities often are the most advantaged in the wireless world of the 21st century. He also stated the importance of community service, and encouraged that like the ILF, young Asian leaders build a system of advocacy and community service in their business models to better their communities, as this allows for more future leaders, and better opportunities for success to grow for those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
The International Leadership Foundation is a non-profit organization designed to promote civic awareness, public service, and economic effectiveness of Asian Pacific American community, with focus on developing young leaders worldwide through a network of business and community leaders.
