Kelly Chung Dawson profiles Anla Cheng, partner at Sino-Century China Private Equity LLC, in “Paving a New Path for Chinese Businesswomen,” China Daily (11/11/11). Cheng’s childhood growing up in Japan as the daughter of a Chinese diplomat, her career as a private equity investor focusing on Asia, and her commitment to educational organizations that teach about China and Chinese Americans are told mostly in Cheng’s own words.
Before earning a degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, Cheng studied art and design at the Pratt Institute. “But I made a conscious decision early in my career to be involved in work that was engaged in Asia, so there was a genuine need for my skills. As a woman, I really had to work my way up through a large corporation, but over time I realized that it's ultimately only your skill level that counts.” As a result, Cheng has been part of both the Japanese and Chinese economic investment booms: “For me, to watch that growth every year, whether it's in business or culture, has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To have experienced it twice and to be part of it, I feel incredibly fortunate.”
Cheng has also been deeply involved in educational organizations, working with the China Institute to develop a series of history curriculum guides. For Facing History and Ourselves, Cheng initiated the China Project, which develops teaching materials on sensitive topics like the Cultural Revolution and comfort women. “American schools here in the U.S. teach very little about Chinese history, and I'm very excited to be developing history books with the help of these two great nonprofit entities.”
Cheng is also a trustee at MOCA [Museum of Chinese in America], because “we want to make sure that Chinese Americans can be proud of the achievements we have made through hard work and dedication.”
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