The Annual Gala is a premier event attended by leading figures from the fields of business, arts, culture, entertainment, and sports from across the Southern California region, the U.S., and Asia. Each year, Asia Society Southern California (ASSC) recognizes outstanding leaders who epitomize ASSC's mission of cross-cultural understanding. Southern California’s diversity, openness to people of all cultures, and thus its ability to attract big dreamers take center stage at this highly anticipated annual event.

This year ASSC is delighted to honor CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), Connie Chung Joe, as "Social Justice Visionary;" Founder of Masimo, and Founder and CEO of Willow Laboratories, Joe Kiani, as “Medical Tech Visionary;” Founder, Chairman & CEO of Rakuten, Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani as “Business Visionary;” and acclaimed HBO Original series Season 3 of The White Lotus as "Cultural Visionary." 

In addition to celebrating the 2025 honorees, in light of the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires, this year's gala will commemorate in a tribute the first responders and aid organizations who valiantly led the fires' rescue and relief efforts. Participants of the tribute will include, among others, the CEO of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, Joanne Nowlin, and Pasadena Fire Department Engineer Chien Yu.

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2025 HONOREES

Connie Chung Joe, JD, is the Chief Executive Officer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Prior to joining Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California in August 2020, Joe served as the Executive Director of the Korean American Family Services (KFAM) for 11 years. Under Joe’s leadership, KFAM nearly quadrupled its budget and staff, with culturally and linguistically responsive services to immigrant families, particularly those struggling with mental health, domestic/family violence, and acculturation stresses. Prior to joining KFAM, Joe was a public interest lawyer for seven years. She worked at the Housing Rights Center in Los Angeles representing clients in fair housing cases and the American Civil Liberties Union in Chicago working on immigrant’s rights, reproductive rights, post-9/11 racial profiling, police accountability and First Amendment cases. Joe received her BA in Spanish and International Relations from USC and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

Joe Kiani founded Willow Laboratories in 1998 to provide state-of-the-art products and services for metabolic health and diabetes prevention and treatment. Prior to founding Willow, Kiani founded Masimo, a noninvasive monitoring company that began as a “garage start-up” in 1989, and during his thirty-five years as Chairman and CEO, grew it into a publicly traded, multi-billion-dollar company with around 10,000 employees worldwide. Kiani is a named inventor on almost 600 patents pertaining to Masimo’s monitoring technologies which are used on over 200 million patients a year. In 2012, Kiani founded the non-profit Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF)—with a commitment to eliminate preventable patient deaths in U.S. hospitals and significantly reduce medical errors worldwide. Thousands of hospitals have joined this unified effort and report tens of thousands of lives saved annually by following the PSMF guidelines. Kiani, as an angel investor and advisor, also helps promising entrepreneurs that offer unique positive lifesaving technologies.

Kiani has received numerous awards, including Society of Critical Care Innovation Award, Ernst & Young’s 2012 National Life Science Entrepreneur Award, an Honorary Doctor of Science from Chapman University and San Diego State University, Hubert Humphry Dawn of Life Award, and IPO Education Foundation’s first IP Champion Award.   In 2021, Kiani was appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Kiani received his Bachelors and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from San Diego State University.

Mickey (Hiroshi) Mikitani is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, Inc. Founded in Japan in 1997 with the mission to contribute to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship, Rakuten has grown to become one of the world's leading internet services companies.

Rakuten has a dynamic ecosystem of more than 70 services, spanning e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications, bringing the joy of discovery to 1.8 billion members around the world. Rakuten also became Japan’s newest mobile network operator in 2019.

Born in Kobe, Mikitani was educated at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, began his career in investment banking, and earned his MBA at Harvard Business School. In 2012, he was awarded the HBS Alumni Achievement Award, one of the school’s highest honors.

Mikitani is also a recipient of the Legion of Honour, awarded by the French government in recognition of contributions to the economy and culture of France. In 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, which has the longest history and tradition of any orchestra in Japan, and serves as Representative Director of the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE).

He also serves as Vice Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Medical, Inc., a global biotechnology company developing and commercializing precision, cell-targeting investigational photoimmunotherapy on its Alluminox™ platform.

The HBO Original series Season 3 of The White Lotus pays homage to Thailand – the allure of its landscape, the depth of its culture, and the grace of its people. Taking place over one eventful week, the show follows the guests and employees of a luxury spa and wellness sanctuary in Thailand as they grapple with spirituality, secrets, self-discovery, revenge, and death while on their unique journey toward finding peace. As darker dynamics emerge, the series gradually reveals the complex truths of the seemingly picture-perfect travelers, cheerful hotel employees, and idyllic locale itself.

The White Lotus 3 features an exceptional performance by Blackpink phenom, Lalisa Manobal in her debut acting role along with fellow cast members including, Walton Goggins, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Praya Lundberg, Michelle Monaghan, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Tayme Thapthimthong. The series is created, written, and directed by Mike White and executive produced by David Bernad, Mark Kamine, and Mike White.

TRIBUTE TO THE FIRST RESPONDERS AND AID ORGANIZATIONS

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