John Wang, Anne Chow and Krishnan Rajagopalan will be recognized at this year’s Asian American Business Development Center gala. Courtesy of AABDC
AABDC celebrates milestone anniversary of its
Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
With last year’s black tie
event canceled due to the COVID
19 pandemic, the Asian
American Business Development
Center (AABDC) resumed
its highly anticipated 20th Anniversary
Outstanding 50 Asian
Americans in Business Dinner
and Gala on Wednesday, Sept.
15.
For two decades, AABDC
has assisted Asian American
businesses in strengthening
their capacity to compete in the
mainstream market, to expand
business opportunities and to
promote recognition of Asian
American businesses’ contributions
to the larger economy,
according to John Wang, president
and founder of AABDC.
For Wang, it is gratifying
to hold this year’s awards
amidst the challenges to the
Asian American business
community which has experienced
COVID-19 and increased
hate crimes against Asians
who have been blamed for the
spread of the virus.
“Everyone has been affected
and we are grateful to hold
this event and have the support
of many corporations and
individuals to celebrate Asian
Americans’ accomplishments
and contributions,” Wang said
before the event.
The 20th Anniversary
of Outstanding 50 Business
Awards, which was established
in 2001 by AABDC, celebrates
and reaffirms the valuable contributions
of Asian American
executives, small business owners
and corporate leaders in the
U.S.E
ach year, AABDC honors
some of the most outstanding
Asian American business leaders
and entrepreneurs from diverse
industries across the U.S.,
which includes Pepsico, Bank
of America, Chase, IBM and
AT&T Business.
“They run the whole gamut
of industries,” Wang said.
This year, AABDC honored
Krishnan Rajagapolan, CEO of
Heidrick & Struggles, and Anne
Chow, CEO of AT&T Business.
Each year, the Outstanding 50
award committee identifies and
selects outstanding leaders who
have built a successful business
or who have distinguished
themselves in their community.
Of those, the committee
also identifies a top Pinnacle
Award recipient who
has reached the acme of his/
her professional career and
is widely acknowledged as a
leader in their industry.
Chow has set a precedent for
the 2021 Pinnacle Award honorees
by becoming the first to receive
this award after also being
selected as an Outstanding 50
award winner in 2009.
TIMESLEDGER | Q 22 NS.COM | SEPT. 24 - SEPT. 30, 2021
As a special commemoration
of the 20th anniversary,
AABDC hosted a one-day
conference that led into the
Dinner Gala that was held at
Cipriani 55 Wall St. on Sept. 15.
The prominent event typically
draws over 600 leading business,
political and civic leaders
to pay tribute to the outstanding
entrepreneurs and corporate
executives in the Asian
American business community
from across the nation.
The conference, at the Asia
Society, included an opening
keynote address by Angela
Wang, group president of Pfizer
Biopharmaceuticals Group.
There were also three panel
discussions composed of prior
Outstanding 50 honorees as well
as distinguished leaders from
other minority enterprises.
Panels explored strategies
to increase Asian American
representation in corporate
leadership; how minority
group allyship as the “New
Majority” can promote social
justice and economic equity;
how to develop the new generation
of Asian American
leaders; and the importance of
civic engagement by the Asian
American community.
Throughout the past year,
Wang has been leading and
participating in efforts to support
small businesses, advocate
for fair representation
of Asian American business
and individuals, and advance
Asian American business and
individuals by expanding access
and cultivation of young
talent and leadership through:
Broad advocacy efforts and
broadcast of a joint statement
with the Hispanic Federation
and the 100 Black Men Inc., to
reaffirm solidarity with diverse
leaders and institutions
across the nation, while pledging
to fight to turn the tide
against racism. Connecting
business recovery grants to
small businesses via Hennessy
Inc.’s Unfinished Business minority
owned small business
grants and New York State COVID
19 recovery resources.
Through Project Rebuild,
AABDC cultivates and matches
corporate leaders and resources
to help small businesses
in minority communities
inclusive of financing access,
marketing and technology
upgrade expertise and professional
advisory services.
In 1994, Wang founded
AABDC when he saw a gap in
the national and local business
community of minority professionals
and were underrepresented
in all spectrums and
business owners struggling
to access capital for business
growth.
“Years ago, Asian Americans
were beginning to grow
in many different ways. The
population was growing rapidly,
and many small businesses
at that time were largely
focused in their own community,”
Wang said. “I thought
it was important for Asian
American businesses to participate
in the larger economy.
We introduce resources to help
them grow and expand and
we advocate for more Asian
Americans in leadership roles
and support companies who
support diversity.”
Thousands of small businesses
have received technical
assistance and mentoring
through AABDC’s linkage
with corporate ERG members
— an entire generation of business
owners have transformed
into mainstream market competitors
through AABDC’s
guidance, educational events,
networking and advocacy.
Over 2,000 individuals who
have achieved national distinction
in their respective industries
and for contributing
to the national economy have
been honored via AABDC’s
Outstanding 50 Asian Americans
in Business Award, as the
alumni continue to contribute
their time to help others.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4526.
/NS.COM
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