Ascend Pinnacle

Challenge

Less than 4 percent of the nearly 5,700 Fortune 500 board director seats are currently occupied by Asians (including Asian Americans and all Asians). 

Actions

Ascend, a career lifecycle non-profit organization for Pan-Asian business professionals and executives, launched Ascend Pinnacle in 2014 to create a platform to network, leverage, and support current Asian American corporate board directors on U.S. public company and large private company boards. Ascend Pinnacle, the only network of its kind, hosts the Asian Corporate Directors Summit, an annual event for Asian American experienced corporate directors and senior corporate executives; the Aspiring Director Institute (ADI), a year round cohort based program; regional roundtable events held in major cities throughout the year; and engages in thought leadership regarding corporate board issues. The vision of Ascend Pinnacle is to help corporations enhance their business objectives by increasing the number of Asian American corporate board directors.

Outcomes

Ascend Pinnacle Asian Corporate Directors Summit has convened for three successive years and is the largest gathering of Asian American experienced corporate directors with 200+ experienced directors and senior corporate executives. The 2019 Summit placed specific focus on building the pipeline of qualified candidates for public company boards through the Aspiring Directors Academy (ADA), part of the ADI.  Ascend Pinnacle has received an increase in board search opportunities for diverse director candidate referrals; over 20 regional roundtables have been held; and thought leadership engagement has commenced to derive actionable insights for corporate board issues.

Contact

Peyen Fong

Quote

Ascend is enabling the business impact of our most senior members to leverage their business experiences and insights at companies while building the pipeline of the next generation of corporate directors by helping to develop and educate those looking for future board opportunities.

Jeff Chin
Co-Founder & President Emeritus Ascend & Ascend Foundation
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