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"About Jerry"
By Tom Chin
It is Summer, 1999 and alot has happened since that day I
invited Jerry Yang to speak to our Asian Business Association in
San Francisco. When Jerry first came to speak to us it was just
three weeks after Yahoo! went public in 1996.
After sharing his vision with the ABA regarding the exciting,
unknown potentials of the internet, we sat down for a 3 hour dinner
and just talked about the possibilities and opportunities of the
industry, and his pride in being Asian American.
Jerry was born in Taiwan and came to the states at the early
age of ten, so he is quite Americanized. He is easy going, unassuming,
articulate and quick witted. Attired in Silicon Valley standard
attire...( jeans with a Yahoo! jeans shirt) he was very much the
typical Silicon Valley/graduate student.
Although he was 26 at the time, with his equity stake valued
at $36 million, he seemed to be unfazed with the whirlwind of business
activities and public attention focused on him. His passion for
the minority and less unfortunate was quite evident even then, when
he spoke of the internet as a vehicle that will level the playing
field, for it is colorless, genderless and borderless. The impact
on society and the world could be so profound with this revolutionary,
organized, cost effective access to information and knowledge.
The last time I had a chance to have dinner again with Jerry
was in May, l998 where he was being honored by UC Berkeley's International
House as "The Entrepreneur of the Year ."
Despite the continued public adoration, Jerry remains quite
the unassuming, thoughtful, sensitive person, and with the foresight
many years beyond his peer group. He is now married to a classmate
at Stanford...(of Japanese decent from South America), has established
a foundation, (named after his dog) to help the less fortunate.
Jerry's mother, a single parent, is humble and proud of her
two sons accomplishments. His father had passed away when he was
two years old. I believe much of Jerry's compassion and philosophy
was greatly influenced and shaped by her.
His younger brother had just completed his Doctorate in Electrical
Engineering at Stanford University and is seeking a teaching position.
Currently, he has no interest in the business world.
Now at 29, a billionaire ... Jerry continues to balance the
human side of his life to make a difference to improve society.
This exclusive premiere article of Jerry Yang is not only to celebrate
his technology and business achievements, but just as important,
his contributions as a role model, his passion to pioneer, leveling
the playing field, breaking the glass ceiling, and to remind us
all, young and old, to continue to pursue your hopes and dreams,
with the passion to have fun and deeply treasure what you have.
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Tom Chin is the former Chairman of the Asian Business Association
of San Francisco and co-Founder of Sino American Investments.
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