The U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation held its 23rd Anniversary CelebrAsian Business Opportunity Conference on May 27 through 29 at the Hilton Washington hotel in Washington, D.C.
PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi, who served as the conference chair, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, U.S. Homeland Security Deputy Under Secretary for Management (Procurement) Elaine Duke, and ASIMCO Technologies Chairman and CEO Jack Perkowski were among the featured speakers.
CEOs from USPAACC-EF’s “50 Fastest-Growing Asian American Businesses” — who, together, generated $4.9 billion in revenues in 2007 — were among the 700 who attended the conference, the theme of which was “Business Beyond Boundaries: Here and Abroad.” Sixty-five Fortune corporations and 20 federal agencies participated as buying organizations.
CelebrAsian — the largest gathering of its kind in the United States — connects hundreds of top-caliber Asian American suppliers and small business owners annually with buyers from Fortune 500 corporations, the federal government and the small/minority business community, through pre-scheduled one-on-one business meetings, strategic summits, best practices workshops and networking sessions.
“USPAACC-EF has been at the forefront of educating, training and nurturing Asian American suppliers and small business owners since 1984, and CelebrAsian, our flagship event, is designed to help participants stay informed on procurement trends, best practices, contract opportunities, and other strategic tools necessary for sustained growth and to be competitive in today’s challenging global marketplace,” USPAACC-EF National President and CEO Susan Au Allen said.
The spotlight was also placed on specific successes and achievements of Asian American businesses, through the USPAACC-EF/Wells Fargo Asian Business Leadership Awards, the Business Leaders and Scholarship Awards Luncheon, and the International CEO Forum that featured Jack Perkowski, ASIMCO Technologies chairman and CEO and best-selling author of Managing the Dragon: How I’m Building a Billion-Dollar Business in China, who shared his experiences in building a billion-dollar business in China.
The latest Census figures showed that in 2002 there were over 1.1 million Asian American-owned companies who generated over $326 billion in revenues, and who are projected to generate over $597 billion in revenues in 2010.
USPAACC-EF was formed in 1984 as a national nonprofit organization representing all Asian Americans and Asian American-related groups in business. USPAACC-EF promotes, nurtures and propels economic growth by opening doors to contract, educational and professional opportunities for Asian Americans and their business partners in corporate America, the federal government, and the small and minority business community in the U.S. and Asia.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., USPAACC-EF has a nationwide reach through regional chapters in Northern and Southern California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia in the national capital area.