Committee of 100 and BeBe Jacobs
The Committee of 100 (C-100) came together for a celebratory event in Los Angeles to praise Chinese-American achievements in the midst of a society that tends to build bridges of understanding between cultures successfully. The extraordinary committee, founded in 1990, consists of acclaimed personalities including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and figure-skating champion Michelle Kwan. Co-founded by renowned architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I. M. Pei), known for his structures including his beautifully designed Louvre Pyramid in Paris and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the committee intends to unite successful and prominent members of the Chinese-American community, sharing and discussing their endeavours while honouring Chinese culture. As an invitation-only committee, they recruited numerous distinguished faces in various industries to promote leadership and camaraderie between greater China and the United States. Headquartered in New York, they also host eventful gatherings in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Beijing and San Francisco.
In April, the C-100 2016 annual conference took place at the prestigious Beverly Wilshire. The two-day summit included a number of panel discussions with various speakers such as Congressman Ted Lieu (Democrat, Calif.), Kevin Tsujihara (chair and CEO of Warner Brothers), Ari Emanuel (co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor) and Joe Tsai (CFO of Alibaba) discussing cases including Hollywood, China and the US–China economic and political outlook. Ming Tsai, chef and restaurateur, Joan Chen, actress and director, and Constance Wu, lead actress in Fresh off the Boat, also took centre-stage as they alluded to their Chinese-American journeys. Along with discussions throughout the day, a gala celebrated C-100 award winners for their considerable successes. Bob Chapek, the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, won the Business Excellence Award. The Philanthropy Excellence Award went to the chairman of Hang Lung Properties, Ronnie Chan, as well as Gerald Chan, the chairman of Morningside Group.—Lola Cristall, Paris editor