Dr. Lee is a graduate of Wayne State University, with residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

He specializes in neurological surgery, or neurosurgery, which focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system. 

Dr. Lee is an expert in back pain and spine, brain tumors, cancer research, cancer surgery, neurosurgery, and neurotrauma.  

Please describe your current position and what influenced you to be in your profession?  Moreover, has choosing this profession helped in your personal growth?

Chief Operating & Financial Officer, Piston Group. I started as the CFO for the company, and added the COO role a few months into the job based on my performance. In all of my roles (in Finance and Operations), I have learned a lot and grown as a professional by always being curious, hungry to learn more, asking questions, and moving through various different functions and operating areas of companies in different countries, regions, and industries.

Please describe why it is so important to support the Asian communities and businesses?

It is important to support all small businesses, including Asian businesses, because they are the engine of our economic growth --- they drive innovation, investments, employment, and positive contribution to communities. It is also important to promote diversity in all aspects (race, religion, ethnicity, background, thought) to get the best ideas and best solutions.

What are your goals in helping the Asian communities? Can you share some ideas that you have come up with to help you achieve those goals?

I strongly believe in diversity and giving back -- in helping mentor individuals, providing guidance and counseling, helping others seeking advice or opportunities -- giving back to communities and individuals in whatever way possible -- in diversity resource groups, universities, non-profit organizations. I have been involved with the Ford Asian Indian Association; supported India League/India Day; participated in diversity events at other companies (e.g. Google), etc. 

Please describe why it is so important to support the Asian communities and businesses?

The Asian Pacific American communities still struggle for parity in various aspects. It is more pronounced in politics, labor and business. By helping our communities and businesses we can bring more awareness of our existence, issues and voices in matters that concern the community. 

What are your goals in helping the Asian communities? Can you share some ideas that you have come up with to help you achieve those goals?

My goal in helping the Asian community is to continue helping to educate our community through active participation in various civic engagement so our voice, concerns and issues will be heard. I am a volunteer Board of Director of APIA VOTE a non-partisan organization whose mission and initiative is to increase our community civic participation through voter registration, community engagement and youth leadership training.

What is the toughest challenge you have faced in helping the Asian communities? Any advice for overcoming these challenges?

The consistent challenge I am facing in helping the Asian communities is while community leaders of various ethnicity continue to interact, the greater communities lacks this interaction to know each other. Asian Americans are diverse group often lumped as one group. To have a greater impact the community needs to know each other and collaborate for common welfare.

Please describe your current position and what influenced you to be in your profession?  Moreover, has choosing this profession helped in your personal growth?

I am the Vice President of Product Development at FANUC America Corporation. FANUC is the global leader in automation for manufacturing. My responsibilities include the development of FANUC painting robots, as well as robot product and application software.  

I joined FANUC since 1985, and my professional carrier can be seen as the robot industry history.  At that time, Robot industry was considered a very new and high tech industry. Unfortunately, soon after I joined the company, the industry experienced an automation cut back and raised some doubt of robotics automation. Since, the growth rate has been relatively in a slow and steady path in the first 30 years.  This slow path however, allows the robotics technology to be matured and robust.

FANUC has over 500,000 robots installed and running 24/7 worldwide and produce billion of products daily to meet the need of human being in their every day life. 500,000 robots is equivalent to over 2 million workers working in production plants. By making the robots working the production 24/7 has providing me the incentives and energy to stay in this industry.

Please describe why it is so important to support the Asian communities and businesses?

FANUC Corporation is a Japanese company.  FANUC America is located in Michigan and is responsible for automation that covers all manufacturing industries in America.  There are many domestic companies and manufacturing transplants in the United States of which a significant number of owners are Asian.  It is important for FANUC America specifically to support the Asian communities since it is a rich part of its own heritage. FANUC Corporation provides strong leadership as well as friendship to FANUC America, and it is important to provide support to communities that strengthen this effort. 

What are your goals in helping the Asian communities? Can you share some ideas that you have come up with to help you achieve those goals?

FANUC offers the best automation solution to all customers.  My goal is to assist all manufacturers in the U.S. to adopt robotics automation.  Manufacturers are migrating to the Industry 4.0 to stay competitiveness and become productive and reduce the operational expense. Many manufacturing companies are global company and have the plants worldwide.  Oversea companies have the production plants in Michigan.  FANUC America Corporation is the best automation company, and I would like to reach out and help all companies, especially those owned by employees from Asian communities, to adopt the industry 4.0 solution for their manufacturing facility.

What is the toughest challenge you have faced in helping the Asian communities? Any advice for overcoming these challenges?

The business environment is constantly changing. Manufacturers are moving their production from one country to the other and causing business plans to change rapidly. This has a significant impact on the Asian Community as a whole. Understanding the global business impact will be very helpful for Asian communities.

Please describe your current position and what influenced you to be in your profession?  Moreover, has choosing this profession helped in your personal growth?

On October 1, 2018, I was named CEO of Metro Health -- University of Michigan Health, a system that includes Metro Health Hospital, a 208-bed general acute-care osteopathic teaching hospital in Wyoming, Michigan, and physician offices throughout greater Grand Rapids. I began my career at Metro Health as Chief Medical Officer before becoming the region's first physician-CEO of a health system. I owe that milestone to my parents, the greatest influences in my career. The inspiration to become a doctor came from watching my father spend a lifetime of healing and caring for people. When I was 1 year old, he moved our family to the United States from South Korea to train as a pulmonologist -- and I pursued that specialty as well, eventually training and joining the staff at Mayo Clinic. My mother, on the other hand, was my inspiration to move into the administration and leadership side of medicine. She convinced me that my abilities gave me the opportunity to help many more lives as a leader than as a doctor alone. She inspired me to challenge myself. So I took a position at Tuality Healthcare in Portland, Oregon, obtained my MBA and stepped into leadership roles of increasing responsibility before moving back to Michigan and joining Metro Health.

Please describe why it is so important to support the Asian communities and businesses?

I truly respect APACC's objectives to promote business opportunities for Asian Pacific American businesses and members, in particular its emphasis on developing leadership and community involvement. Just as I drew on inspiration from my parents, it's important for Asian communities and businesses to provide role models and mentors to subsequent organizations. Relationships play a significant role in success, and I am grateful that APACC provides a structure for that.

What are your goals in helping the Asian communities? Can you share some ideas that you have come up with to help you achieve those goals?

In my own field of medicine, I am proud of the growing role of Asian Americans. As a percentage of those admitted to medical school, Asian students made up 21.3 percent of the total in 2016, compared to just 4 percent in 1980, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. And yet, Asian Americans are underrepresented in academic faculty positions and in leadership roles. I think we need to start early by encouraging college students to consider academic and leadership roles in medicine. Just as I benefited from having role modeling from my parents, we need to make sure aspiring young doctors -- and professionals in all fields -- have access to inspiration and mentorship. Groups like APACC and the Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association can help provide that.

What is the toughest challenge you have faced in helping the Asian communities? Any advice for overcoming these challenges?

A number of studies have found that Asian Americans, despite being more highly educated than other racial groups, are underrepresented in leadership positions. A recent Harvard Business Review report noted this is reflected in multiple industries: high-tech, law, banking, accounting, even the federal workforce. As I noted previously, the same is true in medicine. I believe the first step to overcoming these challenges is to look beyond the "model minority" stereotypes and superficial data that show large numbers of Asian Americans joining the workforce, and to examine why they are less likely to be promoted to leadership positions.

What is especially unique about your business ?

AccelerateKID® culture has always embraced diversity and inclusion with our staff and students. The most valuable asset we have is our instructors who love working with the kids. We have quarterly staff events to encourage collaboration and team spirit. We have snacks, video games and music at the offices to make it a fun working environment. We believe if we can help our staff to succeed in their professional or personal endeavor, then we get more productivity from them. In addition, we have quality tech curriculum that are STEAM.org Accredited.

Students not only learn the technology but also the 21st century skills including critical thinking, creative designing, team work, problem solving and presentation skills.

What is the company's commitment in serving the Asian and U.S. business communities? Have you done anything in recent years to give back to the local economy?

Thanh Tran, founder and CEO, is an advocate of community outreach programs and that is why he started a nonprofit 501c3 foundation, Accelerate4KIDS. Between both organizations, they volunteered their time and service to teach kids in their local community including the Chineses American Pacific Association (CAPA), Michigan India, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) and many more. In addition, the company donates 2% of AccelerateKID® annual profit towards its foundation and providing educational coding hackathons several times a year to over 500 youth.

What has been your biggest challenge as a business owner? And, can you offer any advice to entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses?

As a serial entrepreneur, the biggest challenge is hiring great employees that wants to be part of our vision. To overcome the challenge, my managers and I are transparent about our goals and giving each staff opportunities to grow within the company. We believe if we can help our staff succeed professionally and/or personally, then we get more productivity from them and they will stay longer.

Kwang Koh and Dr. Kook-Wha Koh

Chrysan is a manufacturer of automotive lubricants & specialty chemicals which was founded by Dr. Kook-Wha Koh in 1977. Dr. Koh started the company after working at a metalworking fluid company as the Director of R&D.

Suk-Kyu Koh started working at Chrysan when he was 10 years old driving a hi-lo, cutting & threading pipe, and mixing chemicals. Suk grew up at Chrysan working weekends & summers and is now a 2nd generation owner of the company with big shoes to fill.

What is the company's commitment in serving the Asian and U.S. business communities? Have you done anything in recent years to give back to the local economy?

One of Chrysan's core values is "We protect the environment and contribute to the communities of which we are a part." To this end, Chrysan supports many local communities and organizations including APACC, MMSDC, MHCC, NAAAP (nap), DCBA, and CAPA. Moreover, Chrysan employees are active in many local organizations including Gleaners, JDRF, Love Runs, Lupus Foundation, Miles for Mankind, Special Olympics, and World Vision.

What has been your biggest challenge as a business owner? And, can you offer any advice to entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses?

One of the greatest challenges we had was establishing a global manufacturing footprint. Large companies have resources, people, and the knowledge to work directly with government officials and advisors. As a small company, I relied on friends - many of whom are part of APACC. On my first trip to China, my friend Jimmy Hsiao picked me up from the airport, showed me all around Shanghai and eventually Jimmy helped us establish our 1st wholly owned entity in China. Our Mexico entity was initially started through contacts made from trade missions organised by Automation Alley & the MEDC. I would encourage entrepreneurs to reach out to their friends and contacts at APACC and other organizations who may already have overcome a similar challenge. They will be more than happy to help you in any way they can. I know that from my own personal experience.

What is the company's commitment in serving the Asian and U.S. business communities? Have you done anything in recent years to give back to the local economy?

HIROTEC AMERICA makes various donations to local organizations, supports university and high school efforts like Robotics teams and Manufacturing Day, and offers internships to students. We also participate in a job fair every year searching for bilingual support, and we and many of our employees are members of local organizations such as OESA, Automation Alley, JBSD, JAS, etc.

What has been your biggest challenge as a business owner? And, can you offer any advice to entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses?

Arvin Shah came up with the idea to begin Jaya Travel and Tours, while he was pursuing his master's degree and working at a travel agency on the campus of Wayne State University. He found the industry so exciting because he noticed the airlines always had the best parties and the most beautiful women worked for the airlines. He thought since he can't make it to Hollywood, he should start this business.

Named after his wife Jaya, and in an effort to help the Asian Indian community throughout Southeast Michigan, with a strong focus on guest service, the couple took calls at all times of the day from customers from their living room calling airline after airline to get the best deals.

Hard work and word of mouth paid off. Nearly 45 years later, now with offices throughout the U.S, Canada, and India, Jaya Travel is a full-service leisure travel agency offering airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, and customized tour packages to their valued customers.

In 1924, in Detroit Michigan, Mr. Roy Smith started the company, a small distributor of welding wire, welding consumables/products and industrial gases and in 1999, Mr. Peter Wong, whom most of you are likely familiar with, acquired the company.  

Since then, together with Mr. Anthony Watson, they have expanded RSC's capabilities to include building a state of the art full service packaged gas fill plant, obtaining national bulk gas distribution, and is currently servicing multiple industries including automotive, utility, military, institutional, governmental, and educational industries throughout North America.  

What is the company's commitment in serving the Asian and U.S. business communities? Have you done anything in recent years to give back to the local economy?

Roy Smith Company has been committed and continues to be committed to serving and supporting the Asian and U.S. business communities wherever and whenever we can. In recent years we have supported APACC as well as recommended, referred and supported Asian businesses in the communities we live and work.

What has been your biggest challenge as a business owner? And, can you offer any advice to entrepreneurs?

As an owner and/or as top management of an organization, I think the biggest challenge is the balancing of safe .vs. risk .vs. outcome in utilizing your assets. My advice is: Never give up. Not every endeavor will result in the way you desire it to happen. Keep your mind strong, head high, chest out, learn all that you can, be more capable and be more prepared to push forward with another opportunity.

Richard Liu, News Anchor, MSNBC and NBC News with Shirley and Peter Wong at the

VIP Reception of the 2009 APACC Gala

Corey Biven, Director of Supply Chain

Management, SAIC USA

SAIC USA's parent company, SAIC Motor, is the largest automotive manufacturing corporation in China. In 2014, the company climbed 25 places to rank 60th on the annual Fortune Global 500 list, with its $102.25 billion in revenue.

Vision: Build an innovative, globally recognized company that pioneers the automotive future. 

Mission: Create value for their stakeholders through a market driven strategy, an outstanding workforce and continuous innovation of their products and services. 

Core Values: Integrity, Responsibility, Collaboration, Innovation, Enterprise and Aspiration.

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