Ascend A-List Awards
2024 A-List Awards
April 30, 2024 | The Plaza | New York City
The A-List Awards is our annual gala that recognizes highly accomplished and impactful Pan-Asian business leaders representing a wide spectrum of industries. We celebrate leaders for their professional achievements and advancement of others in their industries or for igniting change in the workplace and society.
Highlights
Nominations
Ascend seeks to recognize leaders who have demonstrated Professional Achievement & Community Advancement and meet several of the following criteria:
Leader who has made a significant impact to his/her industry and demonstrated a record of service to the Pan-Asian community
Leader with demonstrated commitment to the development and advancement of Pan-Asians in the workplace
Senior level Pan-Asian executive who is the CEO or within three levels from the Enterprise-wide CEO of a Fortune 1000/Global 500 corporation or equivalent
Pan-Asian executive currently serving on the Board of Directors of a Fortune 1000/Global 500 corporation or equivalent
Notable Pan-Asian who is either an entrepreneur; a partner at a top-tier professional services firm; a thought leader; an academic leader; an innovator; an investor or a philanthropist
A-List 2024 Honorees
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Abeer Bhatia
Head of Enterprise Payments & Personal Lending
Wells Fargo -
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Tapaswee Chandele
SVP, Global Talent, Development & HR System Partnerships
The Coca-Cola Company -
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Jim Fitterling
Chair & CEO
Dow -
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Dipti Gulati
CEO, US Audit & Assurance
Deloitte & Touche LLP -
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Shiv Iyer
Midwest Market Unit Lead
Accenture -
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Mike Joo
Head of Global Corporate & Investment Banking (GCIB), North America | GCIB Chief Operating Officer
Bank of America -
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Gunjan Kedia
Vice Chair, Wealth, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking
U.S. Bank -
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Swamy Kocherlakota
EVP & Chief Digital Solutions Officer
S&P Global -
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Priya Krishnan
Chief Digital & Transformation Officer
Bright Horizons -
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Shin-Wen Kuo
SVP, AI Strategy, M&A Integration
Hewlett Packard Enterprise -
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Edward Lee
Partner
Kirkland & Ellis -
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Hee Lee
Financial Services Assurance Cross Service Line Teaming Leader
EY US -
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Janet Liang
Group President & COO, Care Delivery
Kaiser Permanente -
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Ida Liu
Global Head
Citi Private Bank -
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Ketan Majmudar
SVP, Global Service Delivery & Chief Transformation Officer
Synchrony -
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Joe Marchese
Partner
Human Ventures -
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Vipin Mayar
EVP, Head of AI Innovation
Fidelity Investments -
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Susie Nam
CEO, Publicis Creative U.S.
Publicis -
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Anil Nanduru
Global Business Leader, High Tech & Manufacturing and Consumer & Healthcare
Genpact -
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Marissa Pagnani McGowan
Chief Sustainability Officer, North America
L’Oréal Groupe -
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Lopa Patel Zielinski
MD, Corporate Secretary, Americas & General Counsel, Corporate Governance
HSBC USA -
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Rajat Puri
COO, Carelon | President, Carelon Global Solutions
Elevance Health -
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Akila Raman
Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer, Transaction Banking
Goldman Sachs -
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Aradhana Sarin
Executive Director & Global CFO
AstraZeneca -
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Zeeshan Sheikh
SVP, Chief Information & Digital Officer
PSEG -
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Shamina Singh
Founder & President, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth | EVP, Sustainability
Mastercard -
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Rita Thakkar
SVP, Global Business Operations & Capabilities
Bristol Myers Squibb -
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Dylan Tyson
President, Retirement Strategies
Prudential -
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Jing Wang
Principal, Head of Center for Analytics & Insights
The Vanguard Group -
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Eddie Wen
Global Head of Digital Markets
J.P. Morgan -
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Valerie Wong Fountain
Managing Director, Head of Family Office Resources Platform & Partner Management
Morgan Stanley -
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Hannah Yang
Chief Growth & Customer Officer
The New York Times -
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Dr. Chen Yu
Founder & Managing Partner
TCGX
Past Honorees
The past honorees list is a prestigious recognition given to individuals who have achieved significant accomplishments in their respective fields. This list celebrates the achievements of inspiring individuals who have made a positive impact on society through their work. Each year, new honorees are added to this list, highlighting the diversity and excellence of the human spirit.
Benefit Committee
A distinguished group of API community leaders, tasked with nominating deserving candidates for the upcoming award ceremony.
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![Raj Sharma Headshot]()
"Organizations like Ascend are extremely important to create the platform, connectivity and allyship that is needed for Asian professionals to rise beyond great people to great management executives in the industry."
Raj Sharma
Americas Consulting Vice Chair, EY
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"I grew up in a small town in Indiana and never in a million years would I have thought that I would come to an event like tonight where I see so many successful confident Asians being able to stand up and be recognized."
Nancy Quan
Senior Vice President & Chief Technical and Innovation Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
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"Ascend is the largest non-profit serving Asian Americans in the country and you could see that, not just in the diversity of voices in the room but in the palpable energy and the joy. We really need an umbrella organization when the full diversity of the Asian American community can find its voice and we can come together on occasions like these."
Kenji Yoshino
Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law
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"Ascend really empowers and enables Pan-Asian leadership to come together to learn and to really feel supported in a like-minded community. When I speak to team members, people I mentor, and early career professionals, they say what they need and what inspires them is to see representation in the executive ranks of the company."
Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh
Head of Global Customer Experience, Asana
FAQ
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The Awards Gala will take place on April 30, 2024 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.
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The A-List Awards, builds on Ascend’s recognition of Pan-Asian business leadership. The Ascend A-List Awards give visibility to the contributions of accomplished and impactful business leaders, elevating their profiles within their companies, their industries and their communities while spotlighting the business case for the continuous pipeline of Pan-Asian talent across North America. Proceeds from the event benefit Ascend Foundation's programs and initiatives.
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Ascend seeks to recognize leaders who have demonstrated Professional Achievement & Community Advancement and meet several of the following criteria:
• Pan-Asian leader who has contributed significant impact to his/her industry
• Leader with record of service to the Pan-Asian community
• Leader with demonstrated commitment to the development and advancement of Pan-Asians in the workplace
• Senior level Pan-Asian executive who is the CEO or within three levels from the Enterprise-wide CEO of a Fortune 1000/Global 500 corporation or equivalent
• Pan-Asian executive currently serving on the Board of Directors of a Fortune 1000/Global 500 corporation or equivalent
• Notable Pan-Asian who is either an entrepreneur; a partner at a top-tier professional services firm; a thought leader; an academic leader; an innovator; an investor or a philanthropist
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Aligned with Ascend's mission of professional and leadership advancement, the award recipients are selected for their contributions for the advancement of others in their industries or communities as well as their professional achievements or philanthropic endeavors.
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To learn more about the Ascend A-List Awards and for sponsorship opportunities, please email molly.engen@ascendleadership.org.
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Ascend Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Pan-Asian organization that is related to Ascend Inc., the premier professional organization dedicated to enabling its members, corporate partners and the professional Pan-Asian community to leverage the leadership and global business potential of Pan-Asian professionals worldwide. The Foundation: supports initiatives, campaigns, and scholarships to support the Pan-Asian community; and conducts research and provides thought leadership to enable Pan-Asians to become better leaders, innovators, role models and catalysts for work place and societal change.
Ascend adopted a 5-Point Action Agenda to: Promote Inclusion, Raise Awareness, Denounce Bias, Support Communities and Give Donations. To accelerate the tenets of the agenda, the Foundation’s Impact Fund has funded advocacy, allyship, education and mobilization campaigns, programs and initiatives.
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Guests are encouraged to dress in Black Tie or Asian Festive.
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Delta Air Lines is pleased to offer special discounts for Ascend
Eligible Dates: 4/25/2024 - 5/5/2024
Eligible Airports: JFK, LGA, EWR
Please click here to book your flights.
You may also call Delta Meeting Network® at 1.800.328.1111* Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (EST) and refer to Meeting Event Code NY2EK.
*Please note there is no service fee for reservations booked and ticketed via the reservation 800 number. -
Ascend has blocked a limited number of rooms at The Plaza in New York City at the preferential rate of $645++. Guests must quote "Ascend A-List Awards Gala" to avail themselves of this rate. Reservation must be made by March 29, 2024, or until inventory is sold out, in order to qualify for Ascend's group rate. Secure your room by booking online here or calling hotel reservation at 888-240-7775.
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The safety of our guests is paramount to Ascend. Masks are optional, but please note that there will be over 400 guests at the event. Ascend will monitor the evolving nature of COVID and adjust the guidance accordingly.
2024 A-List Partners
Accenture
AstraZeneca
Bank of America
Bristol Myers Squibb
Citi Private Bank
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Dow
Elevance Health
EY US
Fidelity Investments
Goldman Sachs
HSBC USA
J.P. Morgan
Kaiser Permanente
Kirkland & Ellis
L’Oréal Groupe
Mastercard
Morgan Stanley
Panasonic
Pfizer
Prudential
S&P Global
Synchrony
TCGX
TD Bank
The Coca-Cola Company
The New York Times
The Vanguard Group
U.S. Bank
Wells Fargo
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