We are pleased to invite you to attend Committee of 100’s Conversations—”Recollections, Pioneers, and Heroes” featuring The Honorable Elaine Chao, who will reflect on her remarkable journey as an immigrant, trailblazer, and leader at the highest levels of government, and her insights on leadership, resilience, and service to the nation.

Secretary Elaine Chao is the first Asian-Pacific American woman to serve in the President’s cabinet in American history. She has been confirmed to two cabinet positions by the United States Senate on a strong bipartisan basis: U. S. Secretary of Labor and U. S. Secretary of Transportation.

Peter Young, Chair of the Conversations Initiative and Committee of 100 New York Regional Chair and Board Member, will be the moderator.

The Honorable Elaine Chao
24th U. S. Secretary of Labor
18th U. S. Secretary of Transportation

Secretary Elaine Chao is the first Asian-Pacific American woman to serve in the President’s cabinet in American history. She has been confirmed to two cabinet positions by the United States Senate on a strong bipartisan basis: U. S. Secretary of Labor and U. S. Secretary of Transportation. She is also the longest serving Cabinet Secretary since World War II.

At the U. S. Department of Transportation, Secretary Chao focused on keeping America’s transportation system safe and efficient; invested over $300 billion in infrastructure over three and a half years; and, engaged with new technologies including autonomous vehicles, drones, and commercial space launches to build the transportation system of the future. During the COVID-19 health crisis, Secretary Chao’s decisive actions kept America’s transportation networks safe and moving.

As U.S. Secretary of Labor, Secretary Chao focused on increasing the competitiveness of the American workforce in a global economy. She set new records for workplace safety and health and ensured the retirement security of 44 million retirees by spearheading the passage of the most significant pension legislation in 30 years, the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Prior to becoming U. S. Secretary of Labor, Secretary Chao was President and CEO of United Way, where she restored public trust by reforming the governance structure and instilling a new culture of accountability and transparency after the organization had been tarnished by previous financial mismanagement and abuse.

Secretary Chao also served as head of the Peace Corps, where she launched programs in the newly liberated Baltic nations and former Soviet Union, including Ukraine. She began her public service working on transportation and trade issues at the White House. She was promoted in rapid succession to Deputy Maritime Administrator, U. S. Department of Transportation; Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission; and Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation. In the private sector, Secretary Chao worked as Vice President of Syndications at Bank of America and Citicorp.

Secretary Chao has been a director on numerous public boards while out of government including News Corp, HCA Healthcare, Ingersoll Rand, Wells Fargo, Protective Life, Dole Food Company, and NASD. She currently serves on the boards of Kroger and technology companies in the mobility space. She has also been a director and trustee on many nonprofit boards including Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors, Harvard Business School Global Advisory Board, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, United Way Worldwide, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, Los Angeles 2028 Organizing Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games (LA28), and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Advisory Board.

Born in Taiwan, she immigrated to America at the age of 8 not speaking English and received her citizenship at age 19. Secretary Chao earned her undergraduate degree in economics from Mount Holyoke College, and her MBA from Harvard Business School. She is the recipient of 38 honorary degrees. Learn more by visiting her website (http://www.elainechao.com) and her family’s story at Harvard Business School (https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/chaofamily/).

Peter Young
CEO and President of Young & Partners
Committee of 100 Member and Board Member
Chair of the Committee of 100 Conversations Program

Peter Young is CEO of Young & Partners, a boutique investment banking firm focused on the life science and chemical industries. He manages the firm and is actively involved in client transactions and financings. Under his leadership, Young & Partners has established and maintained its position as a highly regarded firm serving the corporate strategy, M&A, restructuring and financing needs of clients worldwide. He was previously head of industry groups at Salomon Brothers, Schroders and Lehman Brothers, a senior private equity executive with J.H. Whitney & Co. and a senior member of Bain & Co., the corporate strategy firm.

Young received a BA in Economics from Yale, an MS in Accounting from NYU, and MBA from Harvard Business School where he graduated with Distinction as a Baker Scholar. He is a CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He serves on a number of boards of directors, both corporate and non-profit and is a board member of Société de Chimie Industrielle, a leading life science and chemical industry non-profit organization and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Pharmaceutical Executive.