Past Conferences

October 16-17, 2015 | New York Marriott Marquis

1535 Broadway | New York, NY

 

 

Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 AMBA Awards!

 

 

The Asian MBA Awards recognizes high-caliber Pan-Asian executives who are a source of inspirational leadership, strong role models for Pan-Asian youth, and possess impressive knowledge, expertise and creativity in their trailblazing efforts to cultivate positive change and support for organizational and community advancement efforts.

 

 

The 2015 Global Emerging Leaders Award


         

Inhi Cho Suh, Vice President, IBM Strategy & Business Development

Inhi Cho Suh is the Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for IBM Analytics Group. IBM Big Data & Analytics business represents nearly $18B of Revenue ranging in software, services, and solutions. Inhi is responsible for the portfolio strategy, revenue growth and related capital allocation, which drives the selection of Industries and Assets, as well as direct the resource and capital investment across the organization. She oversees global acquisitions and strategic partnerships including most recently Twitter and The Weather Company. 

Inhi is a thought leader in the Big Data and Analytics marketplace. She spends significant time with clients to identify ways IBM can help them manage today's ever-growing explosion of information and transform their organizational skills and models. Prior to the strategy and business development role, Inhi was responsible for driving product in IBM Big Data business and overall Information Management Division which is comprised of data management, information governance, information integration, master data management, data security, data privacy, and emerging capabilities such as hadoop, stream computing, advanced analytics and context computing. 

Inhi began her career with IBM in 1998, joining the global strategy team for IBM's Personal Systems Group. She then went on to hold a variety of leadership and management positions in marketing, product management, and strategy for IBM Software Group. Inhi received a Bachelor of Science from Duke University and a Juris Doctorate from North Carolina Central University School of Law. She currently resides in Ridgefield, CT with her husband, David and sons, Jacob and Noah. 

 

 

The 2015 Global Emerging Leaders Award

 


 

Asit Goel, Director, Strategic Marketing, United Rentals, Inc.


As United Rentals’ Director of Strategic Marketing since 2011, Asit Goel is responsible for Marketing Strategy, Innovation, Big Data, and Business Development. A global marketing leader with work experience across Asia, Europe, and the US, Mr. Goel was previously Chief Marketing Officer at Muze Connects and, before that, Director and Co-Founder at Optimal Strategix specializing in strategic planning, marketing, and business development including strategic partnerships, e-commerce, and web analytics. He has also held various marketing positions at leading global brands such as Nestle Pure Life and Kellogg’s Rice Krispy Treats cereals. 


Mr. Goel received his undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, his MBA in Marketing from the University of Delhi, and his MIM in International Marketing from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.  In 2013 he was nominated to a leadership development course at Harvard Business School. 


United Rentals is the world’s largest equipment rental provider, with over 12,500 employees, an integrated network of 880+ rental locations in 49 states and 10 Canadian provinces, and $8.44 billion of rental fleet including 3,300 classes of equipment. United Rentals, Inc. (URI) is a publicly traded Company on the NYSE, and is a member of the S&P 500.

     

 

James Lee, Process Manager, State Farm Insurance

 

James Lee is a Process Manager at State Farm Insurance Companies.  James supports the auto claims department utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodology to drive efficiency and consistency throughout the operation.  Prior to his current role, James held multiple positions within State Farm such as, Auto Claim Representative, Market Research Analyst, Support Staff Supervisor and Team Manager.  James has an undergraduate degree in business management from Stony Brook University and is currently in the process of obtaining his CPCU insurance designation.

 

State Farm is a family of insurance and financial services companies that together serves tens of million of customers in the U.S.  State Farm's many lines of business together offer over 100 products. State Farm has more than 65,000 employees and more than 18,000 agents that service 82 million policies and accounts throughout the United States and has been the #1 auto insurer in the U.S since 1942.

     
 

Rak-Joon Choi, Strategy & Business Development, IBM Analytics


Rak-Joon Choi is a participant in IBM's General Manager Leadership Development Program, a prestigious program focused on developing IBM's next generation of business leaders.  Rak-Joon currently works in the Strategy and Business Development group of IBM Analytics, a key group that drives IBM’s growth in the era of Big Data Services.  Prior to his current role Rak-Joon took on multiple roles within IBM Corporation, including strategy consultant, corporate finance analyst, internal auditor, and M&A strategy advisor.  Rak-Joon’s signature moment at IBM came as a support consultant during a CEO driven Integration and Values Team initiative, where he participated in discussions with executive participants and developed reports presented to the Chairperson on subjects from simplifying IBM to developing new solution delivery models.  

 

Rak-Joon brings an extensive consulting background, having worked for top consulting firms including Accenture and the Boston Consulting Group, as well as working as a product manager for a start-up during the dot.com boom.  Rak-Joon has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Yonsei University in Seoul Korea, and has an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.  In his free time Rak-Joon enjoys watching basketball, golf, movies, studying art and history.


 
 

Shizuka (Shiz) Suzuki, Director, Executive Communications Team, AT&T

Shiz Suzuki is a Director on the Executive Communications team supporting the brand and reputation of the Chairman internally and externally to AT&T.  


Shiz is known as a tenacious, results driven leader who always “finds a way to get it done”. Most recently as a Director, Chief of Staff to the SVP of Brand, Marketing, Advertising, Media and Sponsorships (BMA&S), she managed the operations of the BMA&S organization which includes four Vice Presidents, a Chief of Staff team of 4, and 74 FTEs located across the country.  She owned an annual budget of $220M+ in addition to managing all internal and external speaking engagements, and public relations support for the SVP.


As Senior Product Marketing Manager in the AT&T Business Solutions organization, she successfully launched the AT&T Cloud Architect product in half the expected timeframe in time for the Consumer Electronics Show in 2012.  Shiz was also a Senior Business Development Manager in the Pricing Center of Excellence designing and managing custom offers for our largest business clients, Signature Client Group for the Southeast region.  This role entailed consultation, analysis, development of custom deals and negotiation of terms and conditions for 80+ clients with a total account value of $1.1B+ annually.

 
Shiz has also supervised in the field as a Foreman in Construction and Engineering as well as a Manager in a Small Business Call Center with teams as large as 19.  Both teams under her leadership consistently outperformed peer groups by increased productivity, higher order accuracy and decreased processing times. 


Shiz has received numerous recognitions including the Technology Rising Stars award from the Women of Color STEM Magazine Awards, 1Q12 AT&T Best of the Best Awards, and the President’s Volunteer Service Award.  She has been highlighted on the AT&T College Recruitment video and the Diversity Inc. magazine article “The Recruited: 9 Top-Level Executives Tell You Why They Signed Up” in support of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) at AT&T. Shiz was one of only thirty-five leaders across AT&T selected for the 2014 General Managers’ Accelerated Development Program (GM ADP).  


Shiz holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Cognitive Science from UCLA and a Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.  


Shiz lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two dogs, Penny and Bella.  She enjoys wine tasting, local cuisine and traveling the road less traveled, having backpacked through 25 countries.  Shiz is also an endurance sport enthusiast and participates in triathlons, cycling and running, most recently participating in the 2015 Boston Marathon. 

   
 

Stella Aquino, Director, Actuarial Valuation, Empire BlueCross BlueShield


Stella Aquino is the Director of Empire BlueCross BlueShield’s Actuarial Valuation for the small and large group and individual business, and has been with Empire for 25 years.  Empire is New York’s largest health insurance company.  She played an integral role during Empire’s complex efforts on conversion from nonprofit to for-profit organization, and subsequent integration when Anthem acquired Empire.  Stella’s primary responsibilities include: claim liabilities and other reserves estimation, corporate reporting, financial analysis and forecasting support, quarterly GAAP and statutory reporting, internal and external audit assistance, regulatory compliance, SOX control, and actuarial valuation support to Pricing, Cost of Care, Finance, and Underwriting.  She supports Executive Management’s strategy analysis and development.  


Stella is one of the founding members of the Asian Associate Resource Group at Anthem in 2011, and has been the Marketing Committee Lead since 2011 and serves as Co-Chair beginning in 2013.  She advocates addressing the health disparity around behavioral and mental health in the Asian American communities, and initiating a formal Mentoring Program at Anthem.


Stella graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines, and received the Cargill Scholarship.  She earned her Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago, and received the Rotary International and Cargill Scholarships.  


Stella is an American Health Insurance Plans Minority Management Development Program Fellow.  


Stella was honored by the Asian American Federation on June 18, 2014 at the “Spirit of Asian America Gala” for leading Empire’s outreach efforts to Asian American communities.  Stella was invited by AAF to be a Board members beginning in Spring of 2015.


She is a 9/11 survivor.

 

 

 


 

 

If you’d like to nominate somebody for this recognition, please email a nomination form to tracy.kim@asianmba.org with a brief introduction on behalf of the individual, his/her bio and contact information. Help us acknowledge the exceptional individuals who will make up tomorrow’s Asian-American leaders!

 

 

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