African American, Asian American, Latino and Native Americans represent a steadily growing demographic and economic force in the United States and thus, could be accurately described as the “New Majority.” This emerging community commands great human and material resources as well as strategic assets, but has not found a way to pool these collective resources to help each other overcome challenges and tap into collaborations that will drive the growth of business enterprises.
The Asian American Business Development Center convened a Business Roundtable Summit: “The New Majority: Igniting the Future through Inclusion and Partnerships” on Jan. 11-13, 2017 at The Venetian, Las Vegas. The groundbreaking Summit with over 50 highly accomplished New Majority professionals representing African-, Latino and Asian American perspectives exchanged ideas on building partnerships across New Majority communities.
The conference was co-chaired by Dr. Mehmood Khan, Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research & Development for PepsiCo and attended by over 300 people including leaders and representatives from major businesses and corporations, community organizations, academic institutions, government and NGOs and others. Many distinguished organizations participated including The Conference Board, the Executive Leadership Council, The Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility, Catalyst, The Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, The Hispanic Federation and One Hundred Black Men of New York.
Through panel presentations and discussions, participants explored ways to leverage their collective power to promote diversity and inclusion in leadership and business development. Approaching the theme through a cross-cultural lens, keynote speakers shared their thoughts about being New Majority professionals in leadership positions, and the contributions they have each made to their organizations, industries and communities.
The inaugural roundtable has put the idea of a New Majority Alliance on the map of those who are devoted to improving diversity and inclusion initiatives, and has opened up new channels of communication and collaboration among key minority organizations such as AABDC, ELC and HACR, which have been supporting each others’ key events and planning joint follow up programs to expand the New Majority message and influence. A New Majority roundtable is being planned for 2018.
John Wang
The New Majority will become the mainstream of future economic power, the workforce, customers, and business partners. In order to be successful, U.S. businesses must take full advantage of the opportunities that can only exist if this key stakeholder group is part of a company’s critical strategies and actions. Furthermore, through cultural, family and network ties, the New Majority will offer a portal into the African, Latin and Asian markets, a process that has already begun with increased globalization.