C-100 Members on the Lecture Circuit—Linda Tsao Yang, Sir Gordon Wu Distinguished Speaker Forum, Columbia University

Linda Tsao Yang and Lulu C. Wang

More than fifty years after she earned a degree in economics from Columbia University as the only female and minority in her class, made up mostly of World War II veterans, Linda Tsao Yang ’48, returned on May 10 to address the Sir Gordon Wu Distinguished Speaker Forum at Columbia Business School’s Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business. Her talk on “Effective Leadership in a Multicultural Work Environment” distilled lessons learned from a distinguished and diverse career in challenging cultural and political management environments. 

Yang was Ambassador and U.S. Executive Director, Asian Development Bank in Manila (1993-1999), the first woman and minority to serve as California’s Savings and Loan Commissioner, and Vice President of the board of the CalPERS, the California Pubic Employees Retirement System.  Currently, Yang chairs the Asian Corporate Governance Association. Lulu C. Wang, also a Columbia graduate, moderated the Forum, and Savio Tung, a Columbia University trustee, attended.

Being aware of one’s own biases and values and appreciating the perspectives of one’s colleagues, both culturally and politically, are critical to being an effective manager, said Yang. “How to Have a Career with Staying Power”  summarizes Yang’s talk in Chazen Global Insights.