Asia Society at 60: Past, Present and Future
VIEW EVENT DETAILSSPECIAL EVENT
NEW YORK, October 26, 2016 — Asia Society presidents emeritus Robert Oxnam, who served between 1981 and 1992, and Nicholas Platt, who served between 1992 and 2004, join current president and CEO Josette Sheeran and Global Co-Chair Ronnie Chan on stage at Asia Society to discuss the organization's past, present, and future on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. The program was moderated by Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and featured introductory remarks from Asia Society Trustee Charles Rockefeller. (1 hr., 12 min.)
For the first time, Asia Society’s former chairs and presidents join current President and CEO Josette Sheeran to reflect on the 60th anniversary of our founding by John D. Rockefeller 3rd. Established in 1956 to promote a greater knowledge of Asia in the U.S., Asia Society has evolved over the decades that followed, reaching beyond an American audience, and responding to the global shift towards Asia.
Join us for a special celebration and screening of a short film about our history—“Asia Society at 60”— narrated by Asia Society Trustee Emeritus Tom Brokaw. The screening will be followed by a reflection on Asia Society and the Rockefeller legacy by Charles Rockefeller, and then a discussion on Asia Society’s 60-year journey from those who know the organization best: Nicholas Platt, Robert Oxnam, Ronnie C. Chan, and Sheeran. They will cover Asia’s staggering rise – and the Asia Society’s remarkable story – from Ravi Shankar to Jackie Chan, Malala Yousafzai to Aung San Suu Kyi, from Nixon’s visit to China to the Xi Jinping Era, from Mr. Rockefeller’s Williamsburg Conferences to today’s Asia Game Changer Awards.
Speakers
Ronnie C. Chan is Co-Chair of the Board of Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center. He is also Chairman of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited. Mr. Chan co-founded the Morningside group and helped found the Calgary, Canada based Morningside Music Bridge for young classical musicians. He also founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund, is a co-founding director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation, Beijing, and is an Advisor and former Vice President of China Development Research Foundation in Beijing. Ronnie Chan is a Founding Chairman Emeritus of Asia Business Council. He serves or has served on the governing or advisory bodies of several think tanks and universities.
Robert B. Oxnam was president emeritus of the Asia Society for over a decade (1981-91). Prior to his presidency, he served as the Society’s Vice President and Washington Center Director (1979-81) and as China Council Director (1975-81). In recent years, he has been advisor to a major wealth management firm, the Bessemer Trust Company, offering insights on the Asia/Pacific region. He often acts as lecturer for prominent Americans seeking in-depth knowledge of China, including Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) and former President George Bush and Mrs. Bush. He has been Senior Advisor to the Atlanta-based Society of International Business Fellows and often accompanied their business leaders to various parts of Asia. Robert Oxnam was educated at Williams College (B.A. 1964, Phi Beta Kappa) and Yale University (M.A. 1966, Ph.D., 1969). He taught at Trinity College (1969-75), Columbia University (1990s), and Williams College (Bernhard Professorship, 1995).
Ambassador Nicholas Platt is a distinguished career diplomat and president emeritus of the Asia Society. Trained in Chinese (Mandarin) at the State Department Language School 1962-63, he began his career in Asia as a China Analyst at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong from 1964-68. In 1972 he accompanied President Nixon on the historic trip to Beijing that signaled the resumption of relations between the United States and China. He was one of the first members of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing when the United States established a mission there in 1973. He served in Canada and Japan, and as U.S. Ambassador to Zambia (1982-1984), the Philippines (1987-91) and Pakistan (1991-92). Educated at Harvard College and Johns Hopkins SAIS, he is a member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of the Friends of China Heritage Fund Limited, as well as Chair of the US-China Education Trust Advisory Board.
Josette Sheeran is the seventh president and CEO of Asia Society. In the position, she is responsible for leading and advancing the organization's work throughout the U.S. and Asia, and across its disciplines of arts and culture, policy and business, and education. She is former Vice Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and served at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Fisher Fellow in the Future of Diplomacy. Prior to her tenure at the World Economic Forum, Ms. Sheeran was executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. Sheeran has held senior positions in the U.S. government, and in those positions she conducted high-level diplomacy with virtually every nation in Asia. As U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, she led new State Department initiatives which supported economic transformation and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Central Asia and with APEC and ASEAN. Earlier she served for five years as deputy U.S. trade representative, conducting negotiations across Asia, including with China, Australia, Singapore, India, Korea, and Japan.
The Hon. Kevin Rudd (moderator) is President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister and as Foreign Minister. As Chair of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism, Mr. Rudd is leading a review of the UN system. He is a Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House in London, a Distinguished Statesman with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Paulson Institute in Chicago. In 2014-2015, Mr. Rudd conducted a major research project on the future of U.S.-China relations as a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and is the author of the recent report U.S.-China 21: The Future of U.S.-China Relations Under Xi Jinping. He is proficient in Mandarin Chinese, serves as a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and co-chairs the China Global Affairs Council of the World Economic Forum.
Special Introduction by:
Charles Rockefeller is Head of Partnerships, Composite Apps. Inc. Prior to this role, Charles was a co-founder at LearnerX and Halio Health, innovation companies that create science-based, technology-enabled products and services to help people develop practical habits to improve their lives. In 2013 Charles received a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania, while concurrently earning three certificates from the Wharton School of Business. Prior to that, he earned a master’s from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Previously, Charles worked as a marketing manager at sothebys.amazon.com and then in the Global Private Client Group at Sotheby’s, Inc., where he created a loyalty program for Asian clients. A graduate of Stanford University, Charles is a Trustee of Historic Hudson Valley and Asia Society as well as a member of the President’s Council of the University of Tokyo.