the los angeles business journal presents asian business awards 2014 · 2014-07-25 · the 2014...

The Los Angeles Business Journal presents

This special advertising supplement did not involve the reportingor editing staff of the Los Angeles Business Journal.

July 28, 2014 Advertising Supplement

ASIANBUSINESSAWARDS 2014

EVENTPARTNERS

PRESENTING SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS

Royal Business BankSean Yu, Financial Advisor at Morgan StanleyWells Fargo

PLATINUM SPONSOR

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28 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL JULY 28, 2014

WE'RE excited to present you with the 2014 cele-bration of one of the most dynamic sectors ofbusiness today -- the Asian business communityof greater Los Angeles!

To get an idea of the impact that Asian-owned and managed organizations are making on our businesslandscape, you need look no further than the many success sto-ries that appear across our pages in the Los Angeles BusinessJournal. It's only natural that we feature a spotlight on these fas-cinating companies with great stories and terrific leaders.Whether they are emerging organizations, large established busi-ness institutions, or non-profit organizations, each plays a role inhelping to keep the fabric of our collective community strong.

So once again we have scoured through the many great storiesof Asian business success in our region to single out some of themost outstanding organizations and leaders who are setting anexample that all of us doing business in the region can follow.

The awards ceremony, along with the special supplement weproduce within this paper, sharing our honorees' terrific successstories and contributions to Los Angeles business as a whole, isan event we are particularly proud of. This special section youare reading spotlights the very special honorees we celebrated at

the 2014 Awards luncheon on Wednesday, July 23rd at the OmniHotel & Resort Los Angeles.

This year, five extraordinary honoree organizations were announced- and are profiled in this section, alongside two very special honoree dis-tinctions for individuals - the "Asian Business Lifetime AchievementAward" and the "Rising Star Award." We applaud each of our honorees,as well as the wonderful collection of finalists, also listed in these pages.

We hope you enjoy this special section, which contains someinsights on the creative ways in which some of LA's leading Asianbusinesses have made prestigious names for themselves.

Special thanks go out this year to our presenting sponsors,California Bank & Trust and Etihad Airways. And again, congrat-ulations to all the great Asian businesses in Los Angeles that playsuch an integral role in our business community as a whole.

Best regards,

Matthew A. ToledoPublisher & CEO

Publisher’s Letter

ASIAN BUSINESS AWARDS 2014

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JULY 28, 2014 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 29

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2014ASIANBUSINESSAWARDS Honorees

PUBLIC COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Morgan Stanley

James Wu

Sean Yu

➼

NEWEGG is a leading e-retailer based in City of Industry. The company wasfounded in 2001 and, from the beginning, has maintained strong ties toAsia. In those years, the e-commerce industry was struggling. Yet the

company’s executive committee saw past those struggles and was motivated tobring greater choice and value to U.S. customers, while providing a boost toAsian markets by bringing their products to the U.S. Ultimately, Newegg’svision prevailed and the company accrued a devoted customer base that appre-ciates the diversity and value of Newegg’s product portfolio.

Newegg’s success benefits not only the greater Los Angeles area, but the Asianeconomy as well. The company has always remained deeply rooted in its Asianheritage. To that end, Newegg’s ‘First from Asia’ program brings the latest andgreatest products from Asia to the U.S. market. First from Asia gives U.S. cus-tomers access to some of the hottest, most trend-setting products. Products fea-tured in Newegg’s First from Asia program include highly sought-after consumerelectronics, premium fashion accessories and other unique toys and gadgets.

Under the stewardship of its COO, James Wu, Newegg maintains a strongpresence in Asia, pursuing various opportunities to engage with up-and-comingAsian companies. In June 2014, Newegg traveled to the Computex tradeshow inTaipei. While at this tradeshow, the company hosted a workshop-style round-table event that brought together Asia-based partner companies that found suc-cess in the U.S. market thanks to Newegg, along with emerging Asian compa-nies considering expansion beyond their native roots. The event was a tremen-dous success, attended by vendors, journalists, industry analysts and other keyplayers within the e-commerce sector.

PRIVATE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

(REVENUE >$25 MILLION)

Newegg Inc.

MORGAN Stanley is receiving the Los Angeles Business Journal AsianBusiness Award for Public Company of the Year thanks in large part toManaging Director, Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager Sean Yu’s out-

standing leadership and dedication to the Asian American community, and thecompany’s support of his endeavors. Upon learning about the Asian PacificCommunity Fund (APCF), Yu immediately saw opportunities for growth anddevelopment and how he could personally be instrumental in making that hap-pen. Yu and his team at Morgan Stanley share in the mission and vision ofAPCF to grow philanthropy in the Asian American community. In the past year,they have worked closely with APCF to 1) grow awareness in the AsianAmerican community, 2) make available competitive charitable vehicles andservices in language through APCF and 3) increase giving to the Asian Americancommunity.

Yu regularly conducts workshops and seminars to provide important infor-mation to his clients and has now included APCF in these sessions to furtherpromote philanthropy and support for Asian American communities. He hasalso helped further develop APCF’s Donor Advised Fund program by offering hisknowledge, skills, expertise and services, including that of his staff, to assist inthe facilitation of the program. Through these efforts, APCF was able to providedonors with the option to invest their donor advised funds making this programmuch more attractive and competitive, compared to what is offered by otherfoundations and administrators of donor advised funds. This also enables thedonors to grow their funds and thus ultimately increasing funds to the commu-nity. In the short time that Yu has been helping APCF and all on a volunteerbasis, he has secured about $1 million in donor advised funds for APCF, whichbasically doubled the organization’s revenue in 2013.

Yu started his career at Morgan Stanley in 2003, cold calling and attendingassociations and seminars to obtain referrals. As time passed, his business beganto grow as his clients began to refer and endorse him. Today his total assetunder management is $550 million. This achievement and success took him 11years, and at the age of 36, he has become the most recognized Asian Americanadvisor in the LA region.

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CAFFE Luxxe captures the unique spirit of the Los Angeles business community at itsmost innovative, entrepreneurial and diverse. This is in part the reflection of co-owner and creative director Gary Chau’s personal upbringing and background.

Creating the experience of community, through a shared social intimacy of small luxu-ries, details and gestures, is the basis of the Caffe Luxxe business model. The success ofthe Caffe Luxxe Third Wave concept may be measured in profits: the gross revenue of thecompany for the year 2011 was less than $2 million. For 2012 and 2013, profits havebeen between $2 million and $5 million.

Chau was born in Los Angeles. As a child, he left LA to live with his grandparents inBangkok and Hong Kong until the age of 14. During those years, he grew up in closeproximity with the day-to-day of operating a family business, since his grandmother wasa restaurateur. During his years at boarding school in Bangkok, his peers were internation-al, many of them being the children of diplomats and ex-pats from every point on theglobe. Not only did he learn English in this polyglot setting—the experience sparked hiscuriosity for world-culture.

Connection and interaction are at the heart of the Caffe Luxxe formula for success. Bigproponents for building the local community, Caffe Luxxe moved in 2012 from roastingits beans in Seattle to roasting them in Gardena at Il Laboratorio, their own roasting facil-ity where they roast their beans in the Northern Italian style. Also, Caffe Luxxe is dedicat-ed to fair wages and respectful working conditions for employees. From the brand’s incep-tion, employees here have always been paid more than minimum wage.

Caffe Luxxe is an active participant in the culture of the Westside in various ways.Throughout the year, the three locations support the arts scene which flourishes in thearea, and the Montana Avenue venue often hosts art exhibits, book signings and otherevents representing the creative talents of Caffe Luxxe barisiti and café patrons. They werealso invited by 20th Century Fox to serve their coffee at this year’s Golden Globe Awards.


IN the early 1980s, when Dr. David C.P. Chen was an associate professor atthe USC School of Medicine, he noticed that members of the Asian commu-nity who needed medical diagnostics such as X-rays, CT Scans or MRIs, had

no place to go that spoke their first language. In 1984, Dr. Chen decided to do something about it and opened Diagnostic

Medical Group of Southern California in San Gabriel. He hired technicians anddoctors that were fluent in at least two Asian languages (Chinese, Cantonese,Vietnamese or Mandarin) as well as English. The office was an immediate suc-cess and became a vital resource for the Asian community. After a successfuldecade, the demand for Diagnostic Medical’s services increased and Dr. Chenopened a second location in Monterey Park in 1994. Ten years later, a third loca-tion in City of Industry was opened.

The City of Industry location brought many Hispanic patients, so DiagnosticMedical Group of Southern California added Spanish to the languages spoken.Currently, this multi-million dollar company has 90 employees and serves 20%Hispanic patients, 20% Caucasian patients and 60% Asian patients.

While filling an essential hole in healthcare for the Asian community gainedDiagnostic Medical initial success, focusing on customers’ happiness and treat-ing employees like family are factors that separate Diagnostic Medical ofSouthern California from many other companies.

For patients, the organization strives to make the diagnostic process as stress-free as possible, creating a warm environment in all three of the offices, explain-ing everything in detail to patients, and most importantly, getting test resultsback as quickly as possible.

For employees, they are not only treated like family, they are family. Eachyear, Dr. Chen takes every employee, and their families, on a trip together. Theygo to San Diego, Santa Barbara, or another great Southern California location.This trip is the highlight of the year for their employees – something they lookforward to and talk about the rest of the year.

Diagnostic Medical’s commitment to the community is also a strong suit. Theorganization donates money and time to local schools, the police fund, Chinesefestivals in the San Gabriel area and the American Cancer Society. Dr. David C.P. Chen

➼

Gary Chau


(REVENUE $5-$25 MILLION)

Diagnostic Medical Group of Southern California


(REVENUE <$5 MILLION)

Caffe Luxxe

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➼

NANXI Liu, at a mere 23 years of age, has accomplished more than manyhope to achieve in a lifetime. Currently, she is CEO of Enplug, Inc., aLos Angeles company that has built the first real time, interactive adver-

tising platform for the physical world. Enplug’s network of AURA SocialBillboards is located in high foot-traffic venues such as Coffee Bean & Tea Leafcafes and Amoeba Music record stores. Viewers can use their Facebook,Foursquare, and Twitter apps to interact with the screen’s content.

Prior to Enplug, Liu founded Nanoly Bioscience, a company that developspolymers that enable vaccines to survive without refrigeration. NanolyBioscience was named Intel’s Top Social Innovation of 2012 and named TopResearch at the World Biomaterials Congress. Prior to Nanoly, Liu worked ininvestment banking at Goldman Sachs, municipal derivatives trading atCitigroup, and engineering at Cisco Systems.

Liu grew up in rural China in a village with no running water. She thenmoved to Colorado with her parents and grew up in a low-income neighbor-hood. Attending UC Berkeley for college, she paid her entire tuition throughscholarships. While in high school, Liu was elected Colorado Youth Governorand helped draft the Sudanese Divestment Bill, which was signed into Coloradolaw by Governor Bill Ritter in 2007. For her civic work, she was 1 of 7 recipientsof Mobilize.org’s National Leadership Award along with Senator John Edwardsand Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2011, she won the Miss Oakland com-petition.

While at UC Berkeley, Liu developed a text-based 911 system for the campuspolice department that was an award recipient from the Center for InformationTechnology Research in the Interest of Society. In addition, she has created anadvanced caller-ID mobile app, a custom spam blocker for internet browsers,and a dating advice site, which are all available online.

Nanxi is also a concert-pianist who has performed piano live on NBC and atTEDx. Nanxi earned a BS and BA from UC Berkeley. Nanxi currently serves as aboard member of the Los Angeles Venture Association, board member ofUNICEF’s Chinese Children’s Initiative, and youth advisory board member ofLady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.

Mike Watanabe

NONPROFIT OF THE YEAR

Asian American Drug Abuse Program

RISING STAR

Nanxi LiuEnplug

THE mission of the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) is to change lives andsave families by providing comprehensive substance abuse and other social services forAsian Pacific Islander and other diverse communities. AADAP had its origins in 1972

when the Asian American and Pacific Islander community learned the stunning news that 31youth of Asian American descent had died of drug overdoses that year. Community leadersconvened to discuss ways to address the growing problem and decided that what was neededwas an organization devoted to the treatment and prevention of substance abuse.

AADAP was formed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides comprehensive serv-ices to help mitigate the impact of substance abuse and addiction in the Asian and PacificIslander communities of Los Angeles county. AADAP has operated continuously for 40 yearsand led the way as a positive influencer and partner to its clients, their families, and the regionit serves. Its multi-faceted range of services includes employment access, residential therapeutictreatment, outpatient care, prevention, gang intervention, and youth and family services. Morerecently, AADAP programs have also addressed issues related to water conservation, HIV/AIDSoutreach and cross training, employment, drug court services, and tobacco education.

A cornerstone of the organization’s success has been its President and CEO, Mike Watanabe.Watanabe has built a career around community service, and has been an active figure in theAsian Pacific American social movement for 40 years, making a lasting impact on the currentform and status of Asian Pacific Islander activism and social services. A Vietnam Veteran, hereturned to a society in political turmoil and societal upheaval. In the midst of this, he saw hisown Japanese American community and fellow Asian Americans struggling to find support fornecessary services. There were no public agencies able to meet the specific needs of Asian fami-lies, and many that were struggling were falling through the cracks. He was accepted into theMasters of Social Work program at UCLA, and he joined AADAP as the Residential ServicesCoordinator in 1977, and has been with the agency for 37 years, currently serving as its leader.

Nanxi Liu

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JP Wang

J.P. Wang earned his bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the National Taiwan OceanUniversity and his master’s degree in computer engineering at California State University, LongBeach. He also holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.

He and his wife Alice started Golden Star Technology (GST) in 1984. Since its humble beginnings,the company has grown to become one of the largest privately owned IT solutions providers inSouthern California with over $90 million in annual revenue. GST employs over 100 people and hasbranch offices in Cerritos, Las Vegas, Miami, Redlands and Riverside.

GST’s primary mission has always been to become its clients’ trusted adviser by delivering best ofbreed solutions. This is accomplished by increasing organizational productivity and scalability, whilelowering operational costs.

Early beginnings saw Wang and GST in the business of simply selling computers. As the companygrew, it began to provide clients with targeted, custom-created technology solutions. Swift progress inthis area quickly presented GST with a turning point in its plans for growth. Wang and his teamrefined their channels of distribution and concentrated resources on maintaining the quality of thecompany’s core offerings, opening up new technological opportunities for clients.

Since then, GST has seen an ongoing increase in client base and profitability. Over the years, he hascome to realize the core attributes that have kept GST at the forefront of its industry. Wang stronglybelieves that the performance of his team members has contributed to much of his success, and heendeavors to reward and recognize them for their professionalism and expertise.

GST’s ability to serve its customers expanded in 2002 when the Wangs merged the company with E-Systems Design to augment their procurement management, online ordering and processing, technicaland professional services, and network management capabilities.

Wang and his wife are also very active in the community. The AJ Wang Foundation was establishedin 2008 in order to provide funding to various educational institutions to pursue programs to supportstudents. As their life-long goal to “give back” to the communities that supported them to realize theirown dreams, the Wangs established this Foundation to support those with the greatest need.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

J.P. WangGolden Star Technology

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

To nominate for this event please visit www.labusinessjournal.com/bizevents, or contact Mary Kaminski at 323.549.5225 ext. 213email: [email protected]

The role of in-house counsel has never been more important or morevisible as companies face increasingly complex legal and regulatorychallenges. The Los Angeles Business Journal would like to acknowl-edge the significant role that in-house counsel plays in the success ofa business enterprise and recognize the accomplishments of leadingin-house attorneys within the Los Angeles business community.

Candidates in each category will be recognized for exceptional legalskill and achievement across the full spectrum of in-house responsi-bility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professionaland ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles com-munity at large.

Nomination Deadline: Monday, September 1, 2014 PRESENTING SPONSORS:

Moss Adams LLPUSI of Southern California Insurance Services, Inc.

GOLD SPONSORS:

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

• Public Company

• Private Company

• Nonprofit Company

• Government/Municipal/Public Sector

• Rising Star

120 S. San Pedro Street, Suite 523 | Los Angeles, CA 90012 | T (213) 628-1ABA | F (213) 628-3222 | [email protected] | www.abala.org

The Asian Business Association (ABA) is proud to once again partner with the Los An-geles Business Journal for their annual Asian Business Awards. This is a wonderful op-portunity to recognize the many achievements made by the Asian business community.

We live in a global village and Los Angeles is at the center of trade and commerce in the Pacific Rim. It is no surprise that Asian businesses are making a huge impact in the Southern California economy. As an example, there was a report that California has attracted more investment projects from China than any other state in the U.S. Chinese investments in California are growing at triple digit levels and could reach $60 billion by 2020.

In addition to investing in our state, the Asian American buying power in 2010 totaled$171.7 billion, an increase of 287% since 1990. California’s 508,969 Asian-ownedfirms had sales and receipts of $181.3 billion and employed nearly 1 million people.

“Southern California, including its local businesses and economy, is poised to benefitlike no other region in the country and Asian businesses are leading the way. The LosAngeles Business Journal is not only responding to the market, it is drawing attentionto the contributions and significant impact of Asian businesses. LABJ needs to be ap-plauded and recognized for their leadership and responsible journalism,” said Dennis J.Huang, Executive Director and CEO of the ABA.

Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) are playing key leadership roles in all sectors of South-ern California life. As business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics and elected officials,APAs are contributing to our economy and making a positive impact in our society.This is why ABA is proud to play a leading role in fostering leadership and helping Asianbusinesses grow and thrive. They will be celebrating many of their accomplishments attheir 38th Annual Awards Banquet on Wednesday, October 15, at the Globe Theatre inUniversal Studios.

ABA salutes and congratulates the winnersof the LABJ Asian Business Awards.

Nanxi Liu, Enplug

Gary Chau, Caffe Luxxe

David C. P. Chen, Diagnostic MedicalGroup of Southern California

JP Wang, Golden Star Technology

Mike Watanabe,Asian American Drug Abuse Program

James Wu, Newegg Inc.

Sean Yu, Morgan Stanley

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There were so many excellent con-tenders for the Asian Business Awards,we couldn’t let some of these honorablenominees slip by without recognition.Congratulations to each of the follow-ing finalist organizations, listed belowin alphabetical order!

24Hr HomeCare

Ryan Iwamoto is a Co-founder and ChiefMarketing Officer of24Hr HomeCare, a LosAngeles-based providerof nonmedical in-homecare services for seniorsand developmentally

disabled children and adults.Together with David Allerby andTyner Brenneman-Slay, 24HrHomeCare was founded in 2008,with its flagship location earning $1million in revenue. In the past 6years, the company has expanded to9 locations and one corporate head-quarters within the state ofCalifornia, with 2014 revenue total-ing $29 million. The company’sgrowth has spurred the creation ofover 3,100 jobs.

Iwamoto and his partners found-ed 24Hr HomeCare in order to pro-vide the public with access to aquality of service that hadn’t yetbeen offered in the industry.Iwamoto believes that creating qual-ity service begins with developingquality personnel, and created the

Sales and ManagementDevelopment program to train 24HrHomeCare employees for a career ineither sales management or opera-tions management.

365HANGERS

365HANGERS founder Ferial Moloois of Southeast Asian descendent,having migrated to USA fromPakistan in 1990. Her grandmotherwas the first from the family tocome to US almost 40 years ago andthe entire extended family resides inSouthern California. Moloo, anentrepreneur at heart, is working inthe areas of digital content, gamifi-cation, and social media technology.Her company, 365HANGERS has anextensive presence in high-end fash-ion and trendy lifestyle promotionsthrough new media platforms.365HANGERS is, in short, a progres-sive fashion and lifestyle companywith a compelling proposition fortoday’s consumer.

With her Masters inOrganizational Management, Moloobrings to her business a specializa-tion in the areas of digital mediaand marketing, social media cam-paigns, content creation, and e-com-merce. She was recognized as the“CEO of the Year” by Women 2.0 in2010, and was also awarded withthe honor of “Woman ofAchievement” by the City of LosAngeles.

3A Products of America

Arriving in Los Angelesin 1968 with his wifeand three-month oldbaby, Wayne Jung start-ed his life in Americawith a job in thebooming garment fac-tories. Jung swept the

floors and kept the factory clean forthe owners, the Casselberrys, but hewas no ordinary janitor. Jung want-ed to learn everything he couldabout the company and the indus-try. He took English classes at night,and, while fulfilling his janitorialduties, he studied everything hecould during the day. Noticing andappreciating his tenacity, theCasselberrys fostered his spirit andtook the time to teach him the insand outs of the industry.

In 1975, when Mr. Cassleberrypassed away and Mrs. Casselberryretired, Jung recruited his brother-in-law, Toy Quan to open up their owngarment factory. Today, that compa-ny is 3A Products — the exclusivedistributor of thread made by thelargest thread company in Taiwan. Ithas also become the one-stop shopfor the industry, selling non-threadgarment products – anything a com-pany could need to make clothes.

Aahs! Enterprises Inc.

Aahs! Enterprises was established in1994 in Santa Monica. It all started

when, in 1991, the Sawhney family,under the direction ofJagjodh S. Sawhney,started working in theirnew business endeavor,the Aahs! Novelty,Cards, & Gift Stores.These gift stores quicklygrew and became well

known. With a total of nine retaillocations and still growing, theAahs! Family was continually havingsigns and banners made for sales,displays and promotions, etc. Thefamily saw an opportunity, anddecided to start a new graphicsproducts and services venture to beled by Jagjodh’s youngest son,Gurmeet Sawhney.

The first Aahs! Enterprises storeopened its doors in 1994, in a mod-est 200 sq. ft. showroom in SantaMonica. The established customersof the Aahs! Gift store welcomed thecorporate gifting and businessoptions. Due to rising demand, theAahs! Enterprises business moved toa larger 13,000 sq. ft. location in theCity of Commerce. Following themove, another two locations wereopened up. Currently, the sales rev-enue for Aahs! Enterprises is over$2.2 million.

AHMC Healthcare Inc.

Formed in November 2004, AHMC& Healthcare Inc. owns and operatesseven medical centers, including

SawhneyJung

Iwamoto

continued on page 40

2014ASIAN BUSINESS AWARDS FINALISTS

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27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 4:16 PM Page 39


www.coxcastle.com Los Angeles | Orange County | San Francisco

COX, CASTLE & NICHOLSON LLP

Congratulates

JASON FU

BANK OF CHINA

And a l l the o ther

2014 LABJ

Asian Bus iness Awards Fina l i s t s

on th i s e s t eemed honor !

Alhambra Hospital Medical Center,Anaheim Regional Medical Center,Garfield Medical Center, Greater ElMonte Community Hospital,Monterey Park Hospital, San GabrielValley Medical Center, and WhittierHospital Medical Center. In con-junction with Alhambra MedicalUniversity, Alhambra Medical &Cosmetic Center, MontclairBiochemical Technology Co., Ltd,AHMC Liver Center, and AHMCInternational Cancer Center, AHMC& Healthcare Inc. seeks to meet andexceed a multitude of needs byemphasizing innovative, technologi-cal, and cultural development in thecommunity. The company is led byJonathan Wu, M.D., Ph.D., whoserves as the organization’sChairman and President.

Since 2004, AHMC & HealthcareInc. has grown to more than 1,200beds with an approximated 7,000employees and 3,000 physicians, allcommitted to providing the highestquality care for the community.AHMC Healthcare Inc. is also recog-nized for culturally sensitive and com-passionate care for the San GabrielValley geographic area it serves.

Andrew’s & Son Tradings, Inc.

Andrew’s & Sons Tradings is a suc-cessful online retail company led byAndrew Lu, a China born entrepre-

neur who came to the United Statesin the year 2000. Theyear 2012 saw a hugeturning point in thecompany history andthe sales of its BestonShoes brand. That year,Lu moved into a largewarehouse in the heart

of “Shoe District” in the City ofIndustry. In just two years, the com-pany had moved from a mini storageof 1000 sq. ft. to 12,000 sq. ft. In twoyears, the number of employees grewfrom four to 20 people in the US andfrom eight to 25 people in the com-pany’s China office. Meanwhile, thesales have grown from one million toaround ten million.

Lu understands that each businessmust be specialized and so hasstayed away from becoming a shoeimporter (Beston Shoes are notChinese imports). Lu has maintainedthe clear goal of making Andrew’s &Sons, as well as Beston Shoes, a suc-cessful online retailer while playingthe role of fulfillment center.

APEX Asian Professional Exchange

APEX Asian Professional Exchange isa 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisancommunity based organization withmultifaceted goals and purposes thatare charitable, cultural and educa-tional in nature. APEX was estab-

lished in 1993, and is the leadingorganization for cultivating the lead-ership potential of young AAPI pro-fessionals in Los Angeles and OrangeCounty. APEX connects non-profits,businesses and communities to anonline membership of over 7,000highly engaged AAPI young profes-sionals. The organization is celebrat-ing its 21st year of 100% volunteer-run service.

The three focal points of APEX’smission are community service, pro-fessional development and culturalawareness. It realizes this missionthrough nine closely-related pro-grams including: APEX Cares, ApexMentoring Program, ProfessionalDevelopment, Youth Olympics,Youth Education Summit, SpecialEvents and Board Development.APEX increases civic participation byoffering opportunities to make a dif-ference in local communities whilestrengthening leadership experience.In short, the APEX mission is to bethe premier membership organiza-tion for Asian Pacific Americans inSouthern California who have astrong commitment to excellence inprofessional development, commu-nity service and cultural awareness.

Bank of China

Bank of China is the oldest bank inChina, and one of the most diversi-

fied and international banks. Whileits core business is com-mercial banking, Bankof China, through itssubsidiaries, also has aninvestment bankingdivision, and insurancearm, fund manage-ment, and direct

investment. The Bank is even in theaircraft leasing business.

Bank of China ranked 11th interms of core capital among theworld’s top 1000 banks in 2009, andin 2011 and 2012 the Bank was des-ignated as a Global SystemicallyImportant Financial Institution, theonly financial institution fromChina (or in fact any emerging econ-omy) to gain such recognition.Thanks in no small part to theefforts of its Los Angeles office andLA-based Vice President Jason Fu, theBank has also made a successfulentry into the US commercial lend-ing markets, providing corporate andcommercial financing to some of theUS’s most prestigious companies.And in 2013, Bank of China was oneof the largest commercial real estatelenders in the United States.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Within the offices of ColdwellBanker Residential Mortgage worksone of the most well-rounded and

FuLu

2014ASIAN BUSINESS AWARDS FINALISTSContinued from page 38

Congratulations to all of the 2014Asian Business Award Winners and Nominees

is proud to be part of the Asian Business Awards.

For 30 years,Diagnostic Medical Group ofSouthern California has been servicing thecommunity with complete outpatient imaging:

• MRI• CT scans• Diagnostic X-Rays• Ultrasounds• EKG• Bone Density Screenings• Early Screenings &

Diagnostic Mammography• Also offering ABUS, (Automatic Breast

Ultrasound) our new state of the artultrasound technology for women whohave dense breasts

We offer 3 convenient locations to schedule your appointment now:

San Gabriel1129 S. San Gabriel Blvd.

San Gabriel,CA 91776

(626) 287-6746

Monterey Park208 N. Garfi eld Ave.

Monterey Park,CA 91754

(626) 288-8029

City of Industry18575 E. Gale Ave.,

Suite 105City of Industry, CA 91748

(626) 363-1733

27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 5:01 PM Page 40


Ideal Legal Group, Inc.

congratulates

Evie Jeangon her recognition

by theLos Angeles

Business Journal

2014 Asian BusinessAwards Finalist

Representing Plaintiffs and Defendants inWorkers’ Compensation, Labor andEmployment Cases, and Family Law.

www.ideallegalgroup.com • [email protected]

Los Angeles2880 West Valley Boulevard

Alhambra, CA 91803Tel: (626) 569-1882

San FranciscoOne Market Spear Tower

36th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94105

Tel: (415) 293-8468

New York845 Third Avenue

6th FloorNew York, NY 10022Tel: (646) 290-5179

515 Spanish Lane, Suite BWalnut, CA 91789

(877) [email protected]

PARA LIGHT CORP.

Since 1987

self-motivated AsianAmerican businesspeo-ple in Los Angeles. Asdirector of strategicmarketing for ColdwellBanker ResidentialBrokerage, Rainier deOcampo is responsible

for implementing strategic market-ing and advertising plans for bothour real estate agents and the com-pany across all offices in LosAngeles, Ventura, Orange County,San Diego, Palm Springs and thedesert communities. He leads themarketing team to ensure all proj-ects are strategically sound and ontime. This includes media, print,digital, public relations, social andevent marketing.

He works closely with the entiremarketing team, which makes up agroup of 22 individuals. He also col-laborates on a daily basis withbranch managers, senior leadership,marketing coordinators and salesassociates to analyze, manage andcoordinate projects. He is highlypersonable and able to work effec-tively with all team members.

College Launch Inc. College Launch, founded byHarvard scholars, is an educationalconsulting company that providescomprehensive College Admissions

and AcademicCoaching programsand services for stu-dents starting as earlyas middle school. AtCollege Launch, stu-dents and families areguided by a diverse yetcollaborative team of

college admission experts and aca-demic coaches. Led by president andco-founder Tammy Huang-Anacleto,the organization holistically men-tors students to develop the confi-dence, knowledge, skills, and mind-set to discover their talents, gifts,and passions.

Employing a unique approach topersonal, academic and leadershipdevelopment, College Launch’s teampartners with families to supportstudents in building their own dis-tinctive brand. Through this collab-orative process, College Launch hascoached students to become com-pelling candidates at selective col-leges, including the Ivy league,Stanford, MIT, and Caltech, to namea few. Since its founding in 2004,100% of its students have gainedadmission to one of their top choicecolleges. Services are provided inOld Pasadena. Students and familiesalso meet with College Launch viaSkype from Asia and any local orinternational location.

Daw Yee Myanmar CaféDaw Yee MyanmarCafé is named afterChef/Owner DelynChow’s mother, DawYee, who had enduredsix years of her youngadult life in a politicalprison. After her

release, she preserved to establishherself in Taiwan and ultimately toCalifornia, where in 1998, sheproudly opened the first Burmeserestaurant in Los Angeles. From1998 to 2001, the YummyRestaurant comfort food from hometo the LA area Burmese community.Inspired by her mother’s efforts,Chow led Daw Yee Myanmar Caféto its grand opening on January of2013. Sometimes the Americandream is built upon generations.With this new restaurant, Chowhopes to carry on the AmericanDream her mom had envisionedand grow this mom-and-son estab-lishment into an American corpo-rate success.

Opened for one year and a half,Daw Yee Myanmar Café has provento be a success with its traditionalBurmese cuisine and creative offer-ings. Burmese cuisine is fairly newto Los Angele’s eaters. With lessthan 5 Burmese restaurants in town,the café appeals to potential cus-

tomers’ curiosities and reaches outto local Burmese community.

Dr. Bhavin S. Gandhi DDS Inc. Influential and impactful at theground level of humanity are twomajor aspects in anyone’s life: healthcare and finances. Dr. Bhavin S.Gandhi, with his dental practice,finds a way to make each of theseaccessible to anyone through his vol-unteerism and his ability to inspireothers. A dentist by training, hebrings comfort to every patient thatwalks through his office while findingtime to volunteer around the world athis own expense. Each year, he hostsDental Health Month educationworkshops for local K – 3 grade stu-dents. Some of these students thenlearn the basics about researchingcompanies and their stock portfoliosto assess risk of investment from Dr.Gandhi a few years later.

Financial knowledge is the key toindependence for most people yeteven the “wealthiest” seem to makerookie mistakes. Dr. Gandhi startedan investment club with somefriends 18 years ago with each mem-ber contributing $20/month. Hestarted volunteering to teach 5thgraders the basics about researchingcompanies and their stock portfoliosto assess risk, which he continues tothis day.

Chow

Huang-

Anacleto

Ocampo



27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 5:01 PM Page 41


THE Los Angeles Business Journal again has won the top prize for large business journals:The Gold award for Best Newspaper from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. In fact,it’s the fifth time in the last six years that our newspaper has essentially been named the

best business journal in the country. That’s a historic run. We love what the judges said – “Thewriting is bright; reporters dig deep” – because writing and reporting are at the heart of what wedo. But we also excel at photography, design, headlines and the other aspects that make a greatnewspaper. As you can see on the next page, we won awards in those categories, too. Most of all,thank you for being a Business Journal reader and helping us make history.

Charles Crumpley Matthew A. ToledoEditor Publisher & CEO

Historic Run200920102011

20132014

27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 4:45 PM Page 42


BRONZEBest Print Scoop: ‘Might OxyDitch L.A. HQ to Hang Its Hat

in Houston?’HOWARD FINE

SILVERBest Investigative Story:

‘Developer MoneyCrosses the Line?’

ALFRED LEE

JOURNALIST OFTHE YEARALFRED LEE

PHOTOGRAPHEROF THE YEAR

All publication categoriesRINGO H.W. CHIU

FIRSTSports:

‘Online Drive’DAVID NUSBAUM

FIRSTHeadline: ‘Date App Makes

Move on Friends’TOM HICKS

SECONDColumnist

CHARLES CRUMPLEY

SECONDHeadline:

‘Clang Clang Clank’TOM HICKS

SECONDBusiness:

‘To the Rescue’JAMES RUFUS KOREN

BRONZEBest Feature Layout:

WealthiestAngelenos

ROBERT LANDRY

BRONZEBest Special Section Design:

Wealthiest Angelenos

ROBERT LANDRY

GOLDBest NewspaperLOS ANGELES

BUSINESS JOURNAL

SILVERBest Feature:

‘Riches Under the Radar’JAMES RUFUS KOREN

SILVERBest Bodyof Work:

ALFRED LEE

AABP awards 2014Large Tabloids

Los Angeles Press Club awards 2014Daily and weekly under 50,000 circulation

Society of American Business Editors and Writers awards 2014

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTINGEB5 Program Reporting

ALFRED LEE

BREAKING NEWSAmazon Delivery Service Coming to L.A.

JAMES RUFUS KOREN

THIRDPersonality Profile:‘Russell Goldsmith:

Taking Image Into Account’ALFRED LEE

THIRDEntertainment:‘Future Focus’

JONATHAN POLAKOFF

27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 3:29 PM Page 43


Evike.com Inc.

Born in Taiwan, EvikeChang moved to theUnited States with hisfamily when he was 10years old. The oldestson in this working-class immigrant family,Evike attended Arcadia

High School and went on to gradu-ate from USC with a degree inComputer Science and Engineering.After College, Evike worked for alocal importer and quickly got pro-moted to its general manager. In theshort three years he worked there,Evike grew this on-man retail opera-tion into a franchise of over 30 retailstores around the country. Whilestill employed with the localimporter, Evike began selling col-lectibles he found around his houseon eBay and began studying con-sumers’ buying patterns and habits.His curiosity and hobby eventuallyled him to found Evike.com.

Three moves and 13 years sincehe had begun his journey, Evike isnow Evike.com Inc., headquarteredin the heart of Alhambra in a100,000 square feet warehouse andretail space with over 100 employeesand is the largest retailer and distrib-utor of Airsoft sporting products inthe world.

Fineman West & Company LLP

Fineman West is a CPA firm locatedin the heart of downtown LosAngeles. For 30 years, Fineman West& Company LLP has providedsound counsel, critical insight andsolid judgment to clients in a broadrange of industries including manu-facturing, distribution, retailing,financial services, real estate andprofessional services. Two partners,Gary Fineman and Harold West,founded the firm. Their vision wasto build a firm that could combinethe large firm technical expertisethey had developed with theresponsive and creative service theybelieved a smaller firm could betterdeliver to their clients.

One of the reasons why the firmis successful is because of the com-munity and the people in the com-munity. Therefore, the firm is com-mitted to providing support to char-itable and other non-profit organiza-tions, including: Asia PacificAmerican Dispute ResolutionCenter; Asend Pan-Asian Leaders;The International AccountingGroup; Los Angeles ChineseChamber of Commerce; Los AngelesKorean Chamber of Commerce andmany others.

Fluff Ice LLC

Fluff Ice is the brain-child of four friends:Nicholas Huang,Matthew Hui, AnnieTran, and David Wang.To them, Fluff Ice isabout showing thatwhen hard work and

opportunity collide, the results arenothing short of spectacular. Sinceopening their storefront inMonterey Park just a few years ago,

the team has expanded their busi-ness to an additional storefront inMonrovia as well as a Gourmet FoodTruck that roams the streets of LosAngeles. The team will be addinganother Gourmet Food Truck toservice Orange County as well asexecuting a national franchise plan.

Fluff Ice takes on the traditionalshaved ice dessert in a non-tradi-tional way. Through a proprietaryprocess that takes eight hours tocomplete, the team creates eachblock of Fluff Ice by infusing uniqueflavors into large cylindrical blocks.When blocks of Fluff Ice are shaved,what results is the magical union ofdelicate texture and decadent taste.

Good Neighbors USA

Eunju Oh is the currentExecutive Director ofGood Neighbors, aninternational humani-tarian and develop-ment organization thatplans, implements, andraises funds for the pro-

vision of services supporting pri-mary school education, communitydevelopment, child and familyhealth, clean water and sanitation,and disaster relief projects in over 30countries around the world.

In 2005, Oh established theEducation and Culture Center forWomen (ECCW) in the heart ofKabul city and the School ofEducation and Leadership forAfghan girls and women, in cooper-ation with the Afghan Ministry ofEducation and the Ministry ofWomen’s Affairs, supported by thegovernments of Japan, Korea andFinland. Today, Good NeighborsAfghanistan is run entirely byAfghanis, successfully achieving oneof Oh’s and Good Neighbors’ keygoals: mobilizing people at the grass-roots level to become self-reliant.Good Neighbors works in partner-ship with residents to develop effec-tive bottom-up strategies to empow-er them to make rapid progress inovercoming poverty. Oh is adamantabout a community leaning on out-side support for initial resources, buteventually learning to be responsiblefor its own future and productivity.

Ideal Legal Group, Inc.

As a multilingualTaiwanese-American lit-igator, Evie Jeang,founder and managingpartner of Ideal LegalGroup, Inc., consistent-ly demonstrates herrooted connection with

the Asian culture and has created afirm that prides itself on communityoutreach, diversity and creatingequality for all.

Headquartered in Alhambra, IdealLegal Group specializes in workers’compensation, immigration, andlabor and employment matters. Thefirm provides legal counseling tolocal businesses and employees inorder to make their work environ-ment safer, and also contributes tothe flourishing Asian business com-munity. In 2006, Jeang founded

Ideal Legal Group, with the goal ofproviding compassionate legal repre-sentation to minority business own-ers at an affordable price. The firm’score values embrace communityoutreach and cultural diversity,offering services in Mandarin,Cantonese and Spanish. Today, thefirm has expanded to six attorneyswith offices in San Francisco andNew York, in addition to broadeningits practice in China and Taiwan.Ideal Legal Group has also estab-lished a niche in what is consideredone of the most demanding andchallenging areas of family law:international divorce.

iSpace, Inc.

Suresh Kothapalli is theCEO of iSpace, Inc., theEl Segundo-based com-pany he founded in2000 that specializes ininformation technolo-gy solutions and busi-ness process services for

companies in the healthcare, enter-tainment, auto, and financial servic-es industries. The company has beenrecognized six consecutive times byInc. magazine as one of the 5,000fastest-growing private companies inthe U.S.

Through iSpace, Kothapalli sup-ports numerous causes in SouthernCalifornia and India. These include:the Open Door EducationFoundation, which works toincrease the quality and quantity ofcollege students who study technol-ogy; the Westside Center forIndependent Living, which servespeople with disabilities; STEMAdvantage, which mentors, preparesand inspires young women andunderserved communities to pursuecareers in science, technology, engi-neering, and math (STEM);and theIndian Cross and Round Table,through which iSpace has providedemployee volunteers and donationsto aid in flood relief, among otherefforts.

Kleverdog Coworking

David Oshima stumbled upon theconcept of coworking when he start-ed working on a project with agraphic designer. First, they startedmeeting at each other’s house oncea week as a way to work face-to-face,bounce ideas, and challenge eachother’s thinking. Not long after, theydiscovered that there were physicalspaces available in Los Angeles thatoffered common use space in a pro-fessional environment to freelancersand independents. With the desireto reduce any commuting chal-lenges and to make this conceptavailable to more people who livedeast of the 405, the search was on toopen a space near where he lived inNortheast LA.

Kleverdog Coworking opened inJune 2011 in Chinatown – inhabit-ing the space that once was GeneralLee’s Man Jen Low Restaurant. Thespace offers deskspace for rent bythe day and memberships by themonth. But more than that, it offersa place for freelancers, entrepre-

neurs, independents, startups andsmall businesses a place to work,network, collaborate, and mostimportantly, not work in isolation.

Kogi BBQ & Chego Restaurant

Mark Manguera revolutionized theculinary scene by creating the firstgourmet taco truck. However, beforethis – he was a kid from Vallejo whohad immigrated to California at theyoung age of four with his family,where he lived in a 1 bedroomapartment with his parents and 2brothers, and at times, they lived intheir car due to economic hardship.After seeing his parents struggle, itdrove him to work with determina-tion so he was never in the same sit-uation. He followed his passion forfood and graduated from theCalifornia Culinary Academy.

After graduating and working atseveral world-class restaurants,Manguera decided he wanted to sellKorean BBQ (aka galbi) in tacos, butmore than that, he wanted to sellthem out of a ranchero taco truck. In2009, he called his friend Roy Choiwith his idea. With Kogi, the duowere able to bring quality, gourmetfood directly to their customers.Now, they have four trucks and tworestaurant locations, Chego and Alibi.

The Mobile Majority

As COO of The MobileMajority, Sam Kimmaintains companyoperations and align-ment for the LosAngeles headquarters,as well as the rapidlygrowing offices in San

Francisco and New York. The Mobile Majority’s product

offering includes an array of mobilead products, ranging from video andrich media to app discovery andrewards. Each ad unit is highly cus-tomizable, so the content and deliv-ery can be tailored to achieve aclient’s unique objectives. One suchobjective that many clients share isthe goal of delivering personalmobile experiences at scale.Reaching large and relevant audi-ences may be simple enough on tel-evision or radio, but the technicaldifferences and disparities amongvarious mobile publishers make it adifficult goal to achieve. Ads thatdisplay perfectly on one networkmay appear as stretched or croppedin another. This lack of consistencyis a concern that many clients haveidentified when it comes to advertis-ing on mobile.

MYNG Architects

In the 11 years since friends Wai-Ming Chow and My Vuong satdown for coffee and hatched a planto start their own firm, they’vegained a reputation for completingthe most challenging projects whilekeeping their clients’ needs the toppriority. Their guiding principle:treat each project as a unique one,whether a small remodel or a largecomplex project.

The journey in which MYNG hasarrived to their current success

Kim

Kothapalli

Jeang

Oh

Hui

Chang

2014ASIAN BUSINESS AWARDS FINALISTSContinued from page 41

27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 5:02 PM Page 44


“My Fellow Community Based Organizations: Ask NOT What Your Community Can Do For You – Ask What You Can Do for Your Community”

We would like to Congratulate

Mike Watanabe

and the

Asian American Drug Abuse Program

2014 Los Angeles Business JournalAsian Business Award Winner

www.losangelesldc.com(800)366-1178

required a largeamount of dedication,sacrifice and persever-ance from thefounders. Without anypotential clients onhand, the partners tookthe leap of faith thattheir design skills andwork ethic will leadthem to success. Today,MYNG has found theirniche in healthcaredesign and have estab-lished their presence inthe industry. They have

completed over 400 projects withthe same care and diligence as ifevery project was their first. MYNGhas become a trusted partner in thehealthcare field, one that clients callon for challenging projects thatrequire an innovative approach.

NexGen Wealth Management

Who do young entre-preneurs and businessowners in their 30s and40s turn to for unbi-ased professional advicewhen their assets maynot meet the minimumof many “old school”

wealth management firms? Whocan they trust? That is the motiva-tion behind Andrew Chou’s decision

to found NexGen WealthManagement. He wanted to create awealth management firm from theground up to service the needs ofyoung, ambitious, and successfulbusiness owners. To do so, he hasassembled a team of highly qualifiedadvisors, including attorneys, CPAs,bankers, etc to serve his clients per-sonal, and business financial needs.

NexGen’s team of advisors, like itsclients, are mostly young businessowners who understand the needsand wants of Generation Y. Since thefirm’s founding in 2013, NexGenWealth Management has experi-enced explosive growth in terms ofnumber of clients and asset undermanagement. NexGen continues tooffer innovative investment strate-gies, as well as completely objectivefinancial advice backed by its teamof attorneys, CPAs and CFPs.

Para Light Corporation

As a young man, EricTsang started workingfor his father in Taiwanat Para LightCorporation. In 1994,he came to studyEngineering andComputer Science at

Rutgers, where he graduated with aBachelor of Science degree. Aftergraduation, Tsang headed to

California to start the US division ofPara Light Corporation. Para Lightspecializes in providing LED lightingto clients such as SYSCO, Microsoft,Whirlpool, United technology andmany other recognizable names inthe LED field. Both Tsang and hiswife work at the US division of ParaLight where they employ 10 people.

Tsang and Para Light have alsobeen involved in a charitable effortto retrofit an entire village in main-land China. The entire city of GuanNan, which is a relatively poor city,was modernized with new LEDlighting. In addition, Tsang was alsoinvolved in helping modernize sev-eral schools in rural China to helpstudents go to school in a moremodernized environment.

Pettit Kohn Ingrassia & Lutz

David G. Halm is theco-managing share-holder of Pettit KohnIngrassia & Lutz’ LosAngeles office andchairs the firm’sDiversity Committee.As one of the firm’s

original shareholders, Halm’s leader-ship guided the firm’s Los Angelesoffice from three attorneys to thecurrent 10 attorneys today. His prac-tice focuses on civil litigation withan emphasis on business, real estate

and personal injury matters. With the support of his firm,

Halm is also an active member ofthe California Minority CounselProgram, National Asian PacificAmerican Bar Association, AsianPacific American Bar Association ofLos Angeles and the JapaneseAmerican Bar Association. He hasalso served as Co-Chair of theTolerance Education / Hate CrimesPrevention Sub-Committee, Board ofGovernors for the Pacific AsianAmerican Bar Association whichincluded developing and operating aprogram promoting tolerance andreducing hate crimes aimed at jun-ior high school graders in the LosAngeles Unified School district.

Realplay, Corp.

Tony Wang has grownhis company, Realplay,Corp. from zero sales toover $15 million issales in less than twoyears. He is a tirelesspresident presidingover a company that

offers a popular line of shoes.Realplay is a family affair; bothWang’s father and his sister work inthe company. Realplay strives tokeep its line of shoes very up-to-dateand as a result, consistently sells tomany stores in malls across the US.

Wang

Halm

Tsang Chou

Vuong

Chow



27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 5:02 PM Page 45



Wang and Realplay stay currentwith shoe trends by always and con-stantly transforming the productline. When you walk into Realplayheadquarters in the City of Industry,you will see an impressive quantityof shoe and boot designs and proto-types, as well as many differentshoes on display. Realplay sells itsmerchandise as a wholesaler. Theline is produced in China and Wangtravels back and forth betweenChina and California regularly.

Rolling Robots

Dr. George Kirkmanand his wife Bing Jiangfounded Rolling RobotsInc. in 2008. It was atime when our countrywas in recession andSTEM (Science,Technology,

Engineering and Math) educationwas not as prevalent as it has nowbecome. Dr. Kirkman has extensivetechnical knowledge and startupexperience and true passion forrobots and teaching. Jiang has aMaster’s Degree in Physics, loveschildren and is passionate aboutyouth education. Both of them havebeen long time aerospace engineers.

Their novel idea was to create anentertainment retail facility with anexciting robot battle game arena andvariety of retail products (focusingon robotics kits and toys). To roundout the experience, they created anexperience model providing robotbuilding birthday parties and robot-ics workshops. They opened 2 loca-tions in the LA area and fulfilledtheir business passion. Today,Rolling Robots provides a uniqueenvironment where young techgeniuses can learn and grow.

Royal Business Bank

Born and raised inSingapore, Yee Phong(Alan) Thian is thePresident, ChiefExecutive Officer and aDirector of RoyalBusiness Bank. Thianhas more than 25 years

of banking experience in theChinese-American banking commu-nity of Los Angeles County. In Juneof 2008, Thian joined a team of busi-ness leaders in the Chinese-Americancommunity to form Royal BusinessBank in downtown Los Angeles.

After a series of acquisitions,including taking over First AsianBank, Las Vegas in 2011, complet-ing acquisition of Ventura CountyBusiness Bank, with locations inOxnard and Westlake Village in2012 and completing acquisitionof Los Angeles National Bank in2013, Royal Business Bank cur-rently has ten branches and is afull-service commercial bank withan emphasis on engaging busi-nesses operating within Pacific

Rim countries. With the acquisi-tion of Los Angeles National Bank,Royal Business gained the oppor-tunity to serve the Asian marketniche in Orange County and toreach a new customer base, inaddition to adding branches to itsLos Angeles base.

Royce Weddings & Events

Joanna Tsang and Thomas Chanmake up the team that overlooksRoyce Weddings & Events. Born andraised in Hong Kong for the first tenyears of their lives, they were accus-tomed to the fast paced yet creativeand detail-oriented working mentali-ty that Hong Kong culture inspires.This work ethic and fine attentionto detail have been injected into theefficient operational structure ofRoyce Weddings & Events.

Royce Weddings & Events is afull-service event and venue man-agement and consulting company.The organization offers completeevent planning and managementservices, programming and produc-tion, entertainment and specialevent coordination, high qualityactivities, and event promotion.Services are available throughout theGreater Los Angeles area to helpcompanies, organizations, families,and event venues present highlyeffective events. Tsang and Chanpride themselves on attention todetail and a creative approach toquality event presentation.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines is the flag carrierof the city-state Singapore, a 5-starairline, and the world’s most award-ed airline, garnering service awardsand the highest rankings from everysurvey and industry publicationaround the globe. It ranks amongthe top 15 carriers worldwide interms of revenue passenger kilome-ters and is 10th in the world forinternational passengers carried.From the United States, SingaporeAirlines flies from Los Angeles toTokyo, and Singapore, from SanFrancisco to Hong Kong, andSingapore, from San Francisco toSeoul and Singapore, Houston toMoscow and Singapore, and fromNew York to Frankfurt, andSingapore. Beyond Singapore theairline flies to 37 countries and 69destinations.

Singapore Airlines is currently cel-ebrating 34 years flying to LosAngeles. Over half the local employ-ees have been employed with theairline in Los Angeles for more than10 years. Throughout its history inLos Angeles, Singapore Airlines hasparticipated in the Rose Parade, theNikkei Festival in Little Tokyo, andhas been an active participant inAsian business organizations and theAsian community.

Sun Dragon Import Inc

In 2005, Chinese-born Qing Duncan

started her own company, SunDragon Import, Inc. to import spe-cialty yarns. She wanted to create a

niche market by usingher knowledge aftermany years of workingin the dye house indus-try and with a chem-istry background. Shesaw an opportunity inthat there were not

many specialty yarns in the marketand no special fibers used in theblending process as well. Most of theyarns used included basic cotton orpoly/cotton blends. Communicatingwith her old China TextileUniversity school friends, she startedintroducing new yarns with newfibers. This new approach gotnoticed by many major brands andretailers in the US. Her productacceptance grew very fast and shecaptured a big market share despitecompeting with many well-estab-lished and large yarn suppliers.

This is the ninth year since thecompany formed, and Sun Dragonhas reached gross sales of $30 mil-lion from $227,000 in its first year.In addition, they have eight fulltime staff members and over 10independent contractor companiesworldwide.

SYNHERGY Marketing, LLC

Dimple Thakkar, CEO& Impresario of SYN-HERGY to break freefrom the status quo.SYNHERGY began as afull-service music enter-tainment company in2008 with a focus in

social media. After a year and a half,SYNHERGY completely re-brandeditself to serve a more diverse clien-tele and dropped all other servicesexcept for social media marketing. Asmart entrepreneur learns how todetect factors that increases profit.The changes Thakkar and her teamstrategized were implemented forthat very reason. They also enabledSYNHERGY to create a businessmodel that was self-priming andadjustable.

Well Ahead of the curve by start-ing a social media marketing com-pany, Thakkar and SYNHERGYstood out while a lot of the biggermarketing agencies seemed stuck intheir old-fashioned ways. To date,SYNHERGY has won several awardsand accolades including SmallBusiness of the Year with the USChamber of Commerce along withbeing recognized by Mashable as atop-nominated social mediaagency. Not only does the companyhave a large list of accolades, butalso it does its part in giving backto the community and inspiringentrepreneurs.

WinCorp Solutions

WinCorp Solutions has been in busi-ness since 2009 and was founded by

Tom Nguyen, SeniorPartner, Co-Founderand Khanie Nguyen,President, Co-Founderand OperationsPartner. WinCorpSolutions is an awardwinning consulting

and staffing company that sup-ports many clients with talentneeds across their organizations.Very few companies are verticallyintegrated solutions companiesthat deliver in distinctly three divi-sions (Finance, Technology &Engineering), specializing in con-sulting, temporary or permanentneeds and specialty training.Because the Principals and employ-ees are technical subject matterexperts (SMEs), clients see thisapproach as specialized and uniqueand the result is training andscreening of employees and con-sulting teams that are deployed todemanding global FORTUNE 500companies nationwide.

Already armed with decades of360 degree view of talent needsfrom the consultant’s, clients andbusiness development perspective,WinCorp Solutions was founded.WinCorp Solutions has amassed awide client portfolio in multipleindustries, including diverse andnotable clients, such as, the WaltDisney Co., Broadcom,Metropolitan Transit Authority andover a dozen others.

Winnes Wong, CPA, A Professional

Corporation

Established in 1999,Winnes Wong, CPA, AProfessionalCorporation, hasenjoyed continuousgrowth for over 15years. Starting from asmall office of three

desks and two filing cabinets, thefirm now reports annual revenueof close to a million dollars. It isa full-service accounting firmlocated in Alhambra, servicingclients locally in California, acrossthe United States and internation-ally, with clients overseas residingin Canada, China, Hong Kong,Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia,Thailand, Singapore, andAustralia.

The firm's principal, WinnesWong, has significant years ofpublic accounting experience andher strong auditing backgroundcan minimize the risk of beingaudited by tax agencies. The firmhas expertise in wholesale, import& export, physicians, legal,restaurants, retail, auto body &repair, construction company,merchant services, marketing,internet sales, real estate develop-ment, computer consulting, den-tists, freight forwarding, veteri-narians, money transfer, andother companies.

Wong

Nguyen

Thakkar

Duncan

Thian

Jiang

Continued from page 45

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ASIAN BUSINESS AWARDS 2014 AT THE EVENT

More than 320 attendees were on hand for the Business Journal’s Asian Business Awards reception and luncheon at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel.

27 47_aba.qxp 7/24/2014 5:04 PM Page 47

the los angeles business journal presents asian business awards 2014 · 2014-07-25 · the 2014...

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