New York, September 4th, 2024 – China Institute in America is thrilled to announce three individuals who will be honored at its annual Blue Cloud Gala on September 5, 2024, 6:00 PM, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The highlight of this special evening will be the presentation of China Institute’s highest accolade, the Blue Cloud Award, to the 2024 honorees whose outstanding achievements embody the mission of China Institute in America.
The honorees include:
Ronald Diamond was most recently the President and CEO of Conair LLC, a global small appliances and consumer products company with iconic brands such as Conair, Cuisinart, BaByliss and Scunci. In January 2024, he became the Vice Chairman of the Board of Conair and CEO of Cuisinart Outdoor. Mr Diamond has more than 40 years of experience in the consumer appliances industry and is currently the Chairman, Housewares Charity Foundation and serves as a Board member of r-pac, a leading packaging company. Mr Diamond is also an advocate for Hope Lodge, a haven that provides free, temporary housing for cancer patients and caregivers in New York City, the lifesaving Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Jewish Community Center Association. He is a recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Housewares Charity Foundation.
Henry A. Fernandez is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSCI Inc., a premier provider of indexes and portfolio-construction and risk-management tools, as well as climate and sustainability data and research, across public and private assets. In 2019 and 2021, Mr. Fernandez was one of 30 executives named in the Barron’s list of the World’s Best CEOs. He currently serves on the boards of directors/trustees of Royalty Pharma plc, Stanford University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KAUST Investment Management Company, the Hoover Institution, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Foreign Policy Association, and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. In addition, Mr. Fernandez is a member of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero Principals Group, and an emeritus member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council.
Sheldon Pang is a prominent AAPI business leader in international trade, finance, and emission reduction. Mr. Pang currently serves as Vice Chairman of Freepoint Commodities LLC and Chairman of Freepoint Solar. For two decades prior to Freepoint, Mr. Pang served as President of the Pacific Group and Vice Chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets, and as a Managing Director at AIG International. Through two U.S. presidential appointments, Pang served on the White House Commission for Presidential Scholars for seven years, and currently serves on the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to salute these three honorees for their outstanding leadership and contribution to our society as well as in the social exchange between the American and Chinese people,” said George S. Geh, CEO of China Institute in America. “This is aligned with our mission to promote bridge-building and cultural understanding between the U.S. and China.”
About China Institute in America
Founded in New York City in 1926 by American educators John Dewey, Paul Monroe, and Chinese scholars Hu Shi (胡適) and Kuo Ping-Wen (郭秉文), China Institute in America is an internationally-renowned U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to deepening the world’s understanding of China through programs in art, business, culinary, culture, and education. China Institute in America has played an important role in U.S.-China relations that continues today. China Institute in America is located at 100 Washington Street, New York, NY 10006. To learn more, please visit chinainstitute.org.
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