Excellence of the Asian Pacific Americans

The commitment to educational excellence displayed by many Americans of Asian Pacific heritage has brought exceptional contributions to our country and the world. Their entrepreneurial innovations have created more jobs and greater opportunities for all Americans. Since then until now, whether first or second generation Asian Americans, their unique ability presented pride to the community. The remarkable success of Asian Americans is epitomized in their overall pursuit of excellence. Here are a few of the many well-known Asian Americans who have demonstrated excellence in the field of their own pursuit.

Jerry Yang is the Taiwanese American co-founder of Yahoo! Inc. As of 2006 his net worth is about US$2.6 billion.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Yang moved to San Jose, California when aged ten, with his single mother (Lily) and younger brother (Ken). His father had died when Yang was two. He claimed that despite his mother being an English teacher, he only knew one English word on his arrival. Mastering the English language in only three years, he was soon placed into an English class.

Yang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University, where he was a member

of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Yang was recently named to the Stanford Board of Trustees. He co-created the Yahoo! Internet navigational guide in April 1994 with David Filo and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995. Yang married Akiko Yamazaki, a Japanese American raised in Costa Rica. She is an anthropologist.

Lilia Clemente,

Global Investment Strategist Philippine-born Lilia Calderon
Clemente, Chair/CEO of Clemente Capital, Inc., is recognized as one of the most successful global investment strategists and one of America’s top 20 fund managers. Starting with only $25,000 of her own money, Lilia built investment funds, which today have their own listings in the New York Stock Exchange.

As head of Clemente Capital, Inc., Lilia oversees a U.S. porfolio worth more than $1 billion and manages another

$6 billion globally through branch offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila, Seoul, Tokyo and Bombay. Her aggressiveness in the male-dominated world of finance has made the media to nicknamed her “Philippine Tigress” and “Wonder Woman of Wall Street,” among others.

Lilia was among the first investment strategists to exploit the burgeoning economies of Pacific Basin countries in the 1980s. Her strategy of selective investing in fledgling markets in the region rather than matured markets like the U.S. and Japan has paid off handsomely.

Lilia earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines. She studied economics and international trade at the University of Chicago, earning a Master of Arts in Economics and an A.B.D.

From 1966 to 1969, Lilia worked as Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager at CNA Financial Corporation. In 1969, she was appointed Director of Investment Research and Assistant Treasurer for the Ford Foundation in New York. She was the first woman and youngest officer in the Foundation’s history. She served as Manager of the Foundation’s research staff and spurred the globalization of its $3 billion portfolio.

Lilia left Ford Foundation in 1976 and founded Clemente Capital. In 1983, she contracted to provide global investment management services to Mitchell Hutchins, a wholly owned asset management subsidiary of PainWebber, Inc. She spearheaded the firm’s successful entry into global investing, PainWeber Atlas, a global mutual fund which ranked top among all global funds in 1985.

Clemente Capital, Inc., was reorganized in 1986 and broke new ground, listing two closed-end funds on the NYSE: Clemente Global Growth in 1987 and The First Philippine Fund in 1989. In 1990, Clemente Capital beat out 178 other fund managers to win the $50 million California state pension fund and the $125 million New York City pension fund.

Lilia is married to Leopoldo M. Clemente, President and Chief Investment Officer of Clemente Capital.

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