Angela Chao

Angela Chao is a respected businesswoman, philanthropist, and lecturer who has gained recognition for her insights into the world of international shipping. She serves as Chair and CEO at Foremost Group, a globally renowned maritime company which was founded by her father, Dr. James S.C. Chao. Foremost Group leads the maritime industry with its adherence to the highest of environmental standards for its fleet of vessels, investing heavily in the most advanced technology available for their class of ships.

As the child of immigrants from China, who made America their home and built their business here, Angela was brought up to understand that greatness can be achieved through hard work and dedication. Angela comes from a family that places a high value on the importance of education. She attended Harvard College where she studied economics, and graduated magna cum laude after only three years. After gaining experience in the business world, working in Mergers and Acquisitions at Smith Barney, an investment bank, she later returned to her studies at the Harvard Business School where she received her MBA. Angela has continued to keep ties with her alma mater as she sits on the Board of Advisors at the Harvard Business School.

Philanthropy and community leadership are an important part of Angela’s values. She acts as a trustee for the Foremost Foundation, an organization that works to promote education, quality health care, and US-China relations.

While Angela has made Austin her home, over the years she has maintained a strong connection with China, her parents' country of origin. She has worked hard to act as a bridge between the East and the West, leading multiple initiatives to improve and expand relations between the two spheres of her life. As a part of this effort, she sits or has sat on the boards of MoMA PS1, The Metropolitan Opera, The Lincoln Center Global China Advisory Council, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy Board of Advisors, Young Leaders Forum of the National Committee on US-China Relations, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Angela is also the Honorary Chairperson of the Chiao-Tung University Alumni Association in America, which is one of the universities where her parents have created scholarships and programs to promote the education of young students in need. In 1984, her parents established one of the first private foundations in China - the Shanghai Mulan Education Foundation - named after her mother, Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, on whose board Angela is also an active member.

Angela participates in various economic and business institutions, including the New York City Economic Development Corporation. As a professional in the world of global maritime business, she sits on the American Bureau of Shipping's Council and the UK P&I Club Board, while she has also served in the past on the Executive Committee of the Baltic International Maritime Council (BIMCO).

Angela enjoys speaking on a variety of economic and cultural subjects and has been invited to speak at conferences in Asia, North America, and Europe.

Family has always played an important role in Angela’s life. She is the youngest of Dr. James S.C. Chao and Ruth Mulan Chu Chao’s six daughters. Angela’s older sister Elaine Chao previously served as the US Secretary of Labor under former President George W. Bush.