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Thanks to the ACE, Asian American businesses can learn from each other; present a united front
By Jenny Chen
Ethnic minorities such as Hispanics and Blacks have had national organizations advocating for them – the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Black Chamber of Commerce respectively. But until this past year, there were few such organizing bodies for Asian American businesses in the United States.
On December 31, 2012, a group of Asian-American executives and business owners established the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ACE), a new national organization that sought to a voice to the business interests of Asian American and Pacific Islanders. It hoped to improve the economic, political and social well-being of AAPIs by encouraging the growth of existing AAPI entrepreneurs, advocating for AAPI businesses in Washington, D.C., fostering the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and promoting the need for wider AAPI leadership in corporate America.
“The regional and local chambers across America haven’t had a lot of influence in Washingotn, DC,” said outgoing chairperson Bill Imada, Chairmen and Chief Collaboration Officer at the IW Group – a full service public relations and ad service agency. Since 2012, members of the ACE have sought to remedy this by talking to federal agencies Congressmen. In the past year, the ACE has met with both Republican and Democratic representatives and engaged in fruitful discussions about policies that would help Asian American businesses, said Imada.
“We want to be an even voice, not just for Democrats or Republicans. We represent what’s important to advance interests and the impact that policies have on our communities.”
The incoming chairman, Jimmy Ferguson has served as the Owner and Operator of J-C’s McD’s, Ltd. Ferguson says he has always been an advocate for diversity in leadership and marketing to ethnic consumers. “Our board members are CEOs from a very diverse group of businesses and fields,” Ferguson said.
What’s next for this brand-new organization? Imada said the ACE is in the process of hiring a full time Executive Director to solidify ACE’s presence in Washington, DC and in drafting a best practices sheet for approval.
For more information on ACE visit www.nationalace.org
