2011 Highlights

The 26th Anniversary CelebrAsian Business Opportunity Conference was held at the iconic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California during May 23-25, 2011. This year’s theme was “Together We’re Better”. Corporate Co-Chairs were Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, PepsiCo, Verizon and Wells Fargo and Asian American Business Co-Chairs were Collabera, Fortinet, Inc., and VIZIO. We had over 80 Corporate and Asian American Business sponsors, and more than 60 participating Fortune Corporations, 30 Government Agencies, 4 Media partners, and over 45 different types of commodities that needed to be purchased across industries.

In all, over 600 attendees from across the country came to celebrate and expand their business opportunities with us.

26th Anniversary Memorable Moments

Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, honored us with his presence and addressed our attendees during the International CEO Forum
Grace Puma, Senior Vice President & Chief Procurement Officer of PepsiCo, Jill Bossi, Senior Vice President & Chief Procurement Officer of American Red Cross, Hiten Patel, CEO of Collabera and William Wang, CEO of Vizio served on our esteemed International CEO Forum panel led by Andy Lee of Alorica
Apolo Ohno, Olympic Medalist for speed skating, joined our Excellence Awards Gala and took us on a journey through his childhood and the greatest moments of his career
At the Welcome Reception, USPAACC honored six California Trail Blazers, in recognition of their outstanding leadership, contributions and service that promote the full participation of Asian Americans in the mainstream society
New small business development program called Business Express: Ready Set Grow was officially unveiled by USPAACC and Wells Fargo during Special Luncheon
Our Fast 50 Asian American Businesses were recognized for their robust growth and outstanding achievements.
15 college-bound students were granted scholarship awards thanks to the generosity of AT&T, Bruce Lee Foundation, Denny’s, Drs. Poh Shien & Judy Young, Enterprise Holdings, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Paul Shearman Allen & Associates, PEMCO, PepsiCo, Planned Systems International, UPS and Verizon.
The Guanxi Trade Fair and One-on-One Prescheduled Business Matchmaking Meetings proved, once again, to be a highly successful format for connecting buyers from Fortune corporations and Government agencies with Asian American suppliers.

Testimonials

“I go to many conferences and am always impressed with CelebrAsian. For a large conference, it is more intimate and conducive for building relationships. I always meet and make new friends. This has so much to do with the planning and attention to detail. It is always a pleasure to attend.”
- Matt Thursam, Senior Manager, Supplier Diversity, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts

“What a fantastic event!!! I met with a quite few new suppliers with whom we are now working to further assess their capabilities and opportunities. You can count on AT&T in the future for more participation and funding for 2012 and beyond!”
- Marianne Strobel, Executive Director, Supplier Diversity, AT&T

“Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to participate in this year’s conference. I had a wonderful time and found it extremely helpful. It is always nice to be around other entrepreneurs, hear what they go through and educate others who seek advice. I look forward to keeping in touch and hopefully participating in more events in the future.”
- Greg Lam, Co-founder, Kneon, Inc.

“Congratulations to USPAACC! The networking was outstanding. Please count on Hyatt’s support for years to come!”
- Salvador Mendoza, Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts