Asia Society Awards Dinner Honors Mukesh Ambani, Jeffrey Immelt, and NY Philharmonic

Black-Tie Gala to Feature Q&A by CNBC Anchor Melissa Lee

Tuesday, November 16, 2010, Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, New York, 6:30 PM 

NEW YORK, Nov. 4– Continuing a tradition of more than three decades of recognizing extraordinary individuals, who in their lives and professions have contributed to the achievement of our mission to promote mutual understanding between Asians and Americans, Asia Society New York will honor Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd.; Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric; and the New York Philharmonic, America’s oldest symphony orchestra, at its Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 6:30 pm at the Waldorf=Astoria hotel in New York City. The evening’s emcee is CNBC Anchor, Melissa Lee, who will interview honorees Mukesh D. Ambani and Jeffrey R. Immelt during the event. Décor for the gala will be created by Vietnamese American fashion designer Thuy Diep. 

Special guests for the evening include thirty top executives from China who work for global corporations such as Tsingtao Brewery. The group is participating in a joint educational tour organized by the China Europe International Business School and Columbia University. Gala chairs are Edward and Betsy Cohen, Atlas Energy Inc., and Vikram S. Pandit, CEO, Citigroup Inc. Vice Chairs for the gala are General Electric, Chip and Sheryl Kaye/Warburg Pincus LLC, Mastercard Worldwide, Ruth and Harold Newman and Miranda Wong Tang, and Lulu and Anthony Wang. Attire for the evening is Asian National Dress or Black-Tie. 

At the event, Mukesh Ambani will receive Asia Society’s Global Vision Award. In 2009, Ambani was ranked fifth best performing CEO in the world by the Harvard Business Review and Reliance Industries, Ltd. was ranked the 15th most innovative company in the world in a survey conducted by Business Week and BCG. Jeffrey Immelt will be presented with the Society’s Global Leadership Award. Immelt was named one of the “World’s Best CEOs” three times by Barron’s recognizing his global leadership of General Electric since 2001. The New York Philharmonic will receive the Cultural Ambassador Award in recognition of its bridge-building concerts around the globe. Two musicians from the orchestra will perform two pieces for dinner attendees, including Arirang, the well-known Korean folk song that the Orchestra performed on its historic concert in Pyongyang, DPRK, in February 2008. The New York Philharmonic is renowned around the globe, having appeared in 430 cities in 63 countries, including the concert in Pyongyang, DPRK, which was broadcast live, internationally, and its debut concerts in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October 2009, on its first tour with new Music Director, Alan Gilbert. 

Asia Society New York’s Annual Awards Dinner began in 1979 and continues to connect leaders and luminaries from the corporate, political, social, and arts communities. The gala event is the Society’s major annual fundraiser in support of its activities.

Individual ticket packages to the event are $1,500, $2,500, and $5,000. Table purchases range from $10,000 to leadership support at $100,000. For information about purchasing tickets and tables to the Annual Awards Dinner, contact: AnnualDinner@AsiaSociety.org or Director of Special Events, Jeannine Glazewski, at 212-327-9235 by Nov 9, 2010. For updates, visit www.asiasociety.org/annual_dinner. 

Asia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders and institutions of the United States and Asia. The Society seeks to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of arts and culture, policy and business, and education. 

Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.