In Celebration of Asian American Heritage Month

WASHINGTON - May 15, 2018 - PRLog -- "You have shown us that if the business environment wants to bring change for the better, it can do so.  You brought supplier diversity into the forefront of the national discussion.  You advocated for the rights of Asian American and small and minority businesses in the halls of Congress.  Through you, many of us learned of compelling Asian American Success stories and encouraged us to partner with them. Thank you for shining the light on these amazing businesses."

-- Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo


May is Asian Pacific American Month, and there is much to celebrate. Asian Pacific Americans have a long and storied history in this country, from the indentured servants who built the Transcontinental Railroads to the important impact Asian Americans have on the world of business, including Silicon Valley's high-tech industries. They are the oil in America's economic machine.

And perhaps no one better symbolizes this Asian Pacific American success than Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage company in the world measured by net revenue. She is also Fortune magazine's #2 "Most Powerful Women in Business."

Nooyi personifies the American Dream. Born in India, she received a bachelor's degree in physics, chemistry, and mathematics before going on to earn an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta and a Master of Public and Private Management from Yale University.

She joined PepsiCo in 1994, became CEO in 2006, and is known today for her innovative and successful business strategies, personified by her vision for "Performance with Purpose"— PepsiCo's governing philosophy of delivering sustained, top-tier results while being responsive to the needs of the world around us.

In that respect, Nooyi and USPAACC President and CEO Susan Au Allen are very much alike.  Both are successful, self-made immigrants who rose to the top, one in the business world, the other in the nonprofit sector, through their shared values of ingenuity, vision, grit, and individual merit rather than on the coattails of someone else.

It's in that spirit that they will meet to discuss their respective paths to their success as part of the 2018 CelebrAsian Procurement and Business Conference, which runs from May 29 to June 1, 2018, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland.  At the Excellence Awards Dinner, a Fireside Chat with Nooyi and Allen takes place on Wednesday, May 30, they will explore topics such as Nooyi's rise as a leader in the American mainstream business community, the qualities that CEOs and other business leaders need to succeed, the role that diversity and inclusion play in modern business, and how women leaders can balance their business responsibilities with their home life and families, and much more.

It's a tribute to the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC), and its President and CEO Susan Au Allen, that Nooyi has been an enthusiastic supporter of this organization for many years, recognizing that USPAACC has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the Asian American business community." Under Nooyi's leadership, PepsiCo "is proud to be a long-time supporter of UUPAACC and its programs.  We remain strongly committed to USPAACC and the Asian American business community because we know we can accomplish much together."

There is no better way to celebrate Asian Pacific American Month than to attend the CelebrAsian conference and hear the wisdom and advice from one of America's biggest and most successful leaders, Indra K. Nooyi.

Find out more about CelebrAsian Procurement & Business Conference at https://www.celebrasianconference.com or USPAACC at https://www.uspaacc.com