2019 Education and Leadership Conference

International Leadership Foundation

& New York Youth Roundtable

Annual Conference

Special guests: Elaine L. Chao and Dr. James S. C. Chao

The International Leadership Foundation and the New York Youth Roundtable successfully held their annual conference at a prestigious private Club of an Ivy League university, with the theme of “Opportunities and Challenges in the New Environment”. The guest speakers were the Honorable Elaine L. Chao, and her father, Dr. James S. C. Chao, philanthropist, Founder and Honorary Chairman of Foremost Groups. There were also four panel discussions: Leadership Panel, Education Panel, Art Panel and Next Generation Panel. The panelists and moderators were outstanding leaders in various fields.

More than 300 important guests attended the conference, including outstanding Chinese and American entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and community leaders. The MC of the event was Rubiao Song, Managing Director of JP Morgan. Cherry Huang, Chairman of NYYER and Chairman of ILF New York Chapter, and Dr. Yong Ma, Executive Vice President of Bank of China New York, delivered an opening speech to officially kick off the event.

The Leadership Panel discussed leadership and career development. The panelists were Andy Serwer, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance, Dr. Erika Sauer, Director of AmCham’s NYC Office, and Dr. Rick Li, Managing Director and Partner at Goldman Sachs. The panel moderator was Dr. Yong Ma, Executive Vice President of Bank of China New York. As leaders in their respective fields, the panelists first answered a question that confuses many people: what are the differences between leaders and managers? The panelists then further explained their understanding of “destructive leadership” and their views on female leaders. At last, combining their personal experiences and years of meticulous observations of others, the panelists provided young professionals with some highly feasible suggestions for career advancement.

The Education Panel focused on future trends of K-12 and college education. The panelists were Courtney Hall, Co-founder and Managing Director of Hillcrest Venture Partners, Tim Reilly, CEO of KCed, and Steve Schuster, Partner of McLaughlin & Stern LLP. The panel moderator was Dr. Fang Chu, Co-founders of KC Group. The panelists first summarized their experience and observations of college admission in the United States during the recent years and pointed out the latest trends and policy changes in admission among top universities. One important trend they mentioned was the top universities especially attached importance to students’ leadership. College admission is the end of the application process but the beginning of a brand new journey. During the discussion, the panelists explained how to use education to “redefine the road to success in the United States”.

The theme of the Art Panel was “the secret weapon of personal growth”. The panelists were Andrew Wang, former Head of Chinese Paintings’ Department at Sotheby’s New York, Sam Shikiar, Art Collector and Lecture; Josie Browne, former director at Max Protetch Gallery & Deputy Director of Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art, and Elizabeth Marcus, Associate Director of Galerie St. Etienne, New York. The panel moderator was Echo He, Pace Gallery Researcher, and the Founder and Director of Fou Gallery. The guests shared their art collection experience and explained the profound influence of culture and art on personal life and development. As senior collectors, the three guests also provided many suggestions for art collections to younger generations. Andrew Wang shared an interesting story of how Tang Bohu, a famous Chinese artists who lived around 500 years ago, created the well-known painting “Wang Ao Chu Shan Tu” for Andrew’s teacher and ancestor Wang Ao.

The Next Generation Panel discussed how individuals and companies can adapt and thrive in the era of globalization and technology. The panelists were Olivia Wang, Head of US for ZhenFund, Max Kennedy, an Associate at Insight Partners, and Tianyi Yu, TaiYou Fund North America Department Leader. The panel moderator was Hank Wu, a former ILF Civic Fellow. In this panel, Max Kennedy, the young leader from the Kennedy family, and a group of outstanding Chinese young leaders exchanged their views on technology, life and the future. Although the panelists were not very old, they had rich experience in technology and gave comprehensive and persuasive analyses of the current developments and trends in science and technology. As well-respected youth elites among the young generation, they discussed their thoughts about how to cultivate "new generation leaders" based on the current situation of Sino-US relations. The panelists also shared their career plans and life plans for the next five years with the audience.

After the Next Generation Panel, the panelists and the moderator then joined a special questions and answers session with a variety of Chinese high school students to discuss study, choice, and personal growth. Helping the young generation of Chinese elites to grow and stand out in the community has always been the core mission of the event organizers International Leadership Foundation and the New York Young Entrepreneur Roundtable. The organizers invited the representatives of the Kennedy family and the emerging Chinese young elites to have an in-depth talk with Chinese high school students, which became an invaluable opportunity for learning and progress for the young students.

After the four panel discussions, Chiling Tong, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Asian & Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE) and the Founding President of the International Leadership Foundation (ILF), introduced the Honorable Elaine L. Chao and her father Dr. James S. C. Chao. They provided a special speech on the importance of family education.

A member-only dinner was held in the evening. The MCs of the dinner were Meiliang Wu, and Yiting Liu, COO and a partner of the Coalescence Partners. The Honorable Elaine L. Chao gave a keynote speech during the dinner program, followed by an Award Ceremony, 2018 YA Testimony by Elena Jiao, and the ILF Advisor Inauguration. Finally, the chairman of the meeting Dr. Yong Ma Yong delivered a closing speech, which marked the end of the annual meeting.

Co-organizer New York Youth Roundtable is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization founded in New York in 2005. It is focused on educating and cultivating global, cross-cultural entrepreneurship with the key values of exploration, innovation, success, and cooperation. Our members include highly ambitious and socially responsible leaders from various business enterprises and community organizations.

Co-organizer the International Leadership Foundation (ILF) is a non-profit organization that promotes the civic awareness, public service, and economic effectiveness of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. Their mission is to develop young leaders in the United States, Asia, and Pacific Rim countries in the fields of public service, entrepreneurship, and international business and politics through a network of business and community leaders. ILF has a network of national advisory boards and global advisory councils in 15 cities, comprised of professional, civic, business, and community leaders. They help prepare the young generation to become leaders in the public, business, academic, community, and professional fields. Since our founding in 2000, ILF has provided scholarships and leadership training for over a thousand select APA college students nationwide.

Prior to the 2019 Annual Conference, New York Youth Roundtable and ILF successfully hosted the Education and Business Trend conference in the Yale Club of New York City on March 17th, 2018. Two keynote speakers, Max Baucus, the U.S Ambassador to China (2014 -2017) and Chair of the Senate Finance Committee gave speeches. Panel speakers included Professor Dr. Z. George Hong, Chief Research Officer and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs of Fordham University; David Drake, the founder and chairman of LDJ Capital; Risk Wade, Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S Chamber of Commerce; and other important panel speakers.150 guests attended the event.

ILF and New York Youth Roundtable also successfully held the Education and Leadership Conference Roundtable Discussion in the Harvard Club of New York City on December 10, 2016. The featured speakers were The Honorable Elaine L. Chao and her father Dr. James S.C. Chao, the founder and chairman of Foremost Group. Dr. Chao introduced his newly published biography Fearless against the Wind to the audience and shared his legendary life stories. The panel speakers were film producer Cary Woods, CEO and founder of Aston • Pearl Natasha Pearl, and Partner of Engel & McCarney, Thomas Engel.

In addition, New York Youth Roundtable and IFL have organized a series of events in finance, investing, and arts, which attracted participation from a diverse group of young entrepreneurs.