ASIANI PACIFIC-AMERICAN HERITAGE Young J. Bang Booz Allen Hamilton
HEADQUARTERS: McLean, Virginia WEBSITE: www.boozallen.com BUSINESS: Management and technology consulting services REVENUES: $5.86 billion EMPLOYEES: 25,000 TITLE: Principal EDUCATION: BS, United States Military Academy at West Point WHAT I’M READING: Listening In, by Ted Widmer PHILOSOPHY: Be honest, upfront, and never look back. INTERESTS: Family, friends, eating, snowboarding, working out
› How has your heritage been beneficial or helpful in your career/and or business relationships? Being Korean American and an immigrant, my parents always pushed me to work hard and have a sense of accomplishment. I am able to use that work ethic and pride to focus on being successful in everything I do from academics, sports, family, and career. I think most AAPIs apply that ethic to one dimension of your career—the actual work or task at hand. Being able to applying that work ethic in all dimensions of your career like building relationships (internal and external) to your company will help AAPIs be more successful. › What do you think is the greatest issue or dilemma facing the AAPI community today? Lack of senior leaders in corporate America to emulate. I don’t find many senior AAPIs in the corporate structure making their way up the ladder. This in turn has a ripple effect on AAPIs who consciously or subconsciously decide not to make it a career or look for another firm.
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PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL
Albert Lee Caesars Entertainment Corporation
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HEADQUARTERS: Las Vegas, Nevada WEBSITE: www.caesars.com BUSINESS: Gaming/hospitality REVENUES: $8 billion EMPLOYEES: 70,000 TITLE: Vice President of Asian Marketing WHAT I’M READING: Threat Vector, by Tom Clancy PHILOSOPHY: The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. INTERESTS: Listening to music (mostly rock ’n’ roll), watching movies, and trying new restaurants
› How does the diversity of the Asian Pacific community become a challenge and benefit? The challenge of the Asian Pacific community is that there are various cultures under the umbrella label “Asian,” including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, and many more. The tough part is trying to participate and support the various organizations in their individual efforts to show their culture. It can be a balancing act. However, when we have participated in various community events in California and Nevada I have witnessed the various cultures supporting and collaborating with one another in a unified effort. › Have you ever felt discrimination in your career or life? How did you overcome it? Growing up in Southern California I have not experienced intentional discrimination either personally or professionally. However, I have come across a number of people who are unfamiliar with my Chinese heritage and other Asian cultures. One of my favorite things to do is share my culture and show others how much I value it. I have found that Asian cultures are best explained and experienced through food. You sit down and start eating and it generally leads to additional questions about traditions, music, lifestyle, and other cultural aspects of my heritage.
Yen Pham Chevron Corporation
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HEADQUARTERS: San Ramon, California WEBSITE: www.chevron.com BUSINESS: Energy EMPLOYEES: 60,000 TITLE: Manager, Office of State and Local Tax Counsel EDUCATION: BS, University of Houston; JD, University of Texas School of Law WHAT I’M READING: Break Your Own Rules, by Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath and Mary Davis Holt PHILOSOPHY: Keep your eyes on your goal and stay flexible as to how you get there. INTERESTS: Family, cooking, home decorating and remodeling, and learning to golf with consistent results
› How has your heritage been beneficial or helpful in your career/and or business relationships? My heritage has taught me that respect begins with me. Treating others with respect has helped me to build a network of resources allowing me to take on roles with increasing responsibility and exposure and ultimately earning the respect of others. › How does the diversity of the Asian Pacific community become a challenge and benefit? In general, the Asian Pacific community provides a strong foundation to encourage hard work, loyalty, and achieving the best results. The challenge is finding more positive reinforcement for individuals to take calculated risks and to trust their educated guesses. › What are some tips for other AAPIs beginning their careers? I recommend that everyone has more than one mentor. No one person can be everything for anyone. Also, diverse experiences and perspectives are necessary to identify what is best for you. Otherwise, you may become a clone of the one voice you sought.
May/June 2013