James S. C. Chao

{{Infobox person

| name = James S. C. Chao

| image = James S.C. Chao October 2016.jpg

| caption = Chao in 2016

| birth_name = Chao Si-Cheng

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1927|12|29}}

| birth_place = Malu, Jiading County, China

| death_date =

| death_place =

| other_names =

| nationality =

| alma_mater = Wusong Merchant Marine College (BS)
St. John's University (MBA)

| occupation = Businessman, philanthropist, Sea captain

| known_for =

| title = Founder of Foremost Group

| spouse = {{marriage|Ruth Mulan Chu
|1951|August 2, 2007|reason=died}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.theforemostfoundation.org/mrs-ruth-mulan-chu-chao|title=Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao|website=The Foremost Foundation|access-date=June 18, 2016}}

| children = 6, including Elaine Chao and Angela Chao

}}

{{Infobox Chinese

| t = 趙錫成

| s = 赵锡成

| p = Zhào Xíchéng

| w = {{tonesup|Chao4 Hsi2-ch'eng2}}

}}

James Si-Cheng Chao ({{zh|t=趙錫成|p=Zhào Xíchéng}}; born December 29, 1927) is a Chinese businessman, philanthropist, and former sea captain. He is the founder of the shipping company Foremost Group. He is also known as the father of Elaine Chao and father-in-law of United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Early life, education

Chao was born on December 29, 1927,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3JmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Chao,+James+Si-Cheng+%22|title = Men of Achievement|year = 1983| publisher=Melrose Press |isbn = 9780900332661}} in Malu, a small, rural farming village in Jiading County outside Shanghai, Republic of China. His parents were Yi-Ren Chao, an elementary school principal, and Yu-Chin Hsu Chao. They were farmers who "emphasized the value of education".{{cite web |url=http://www.elainelchao.com/childhood-family/ |publisher=ElaineLChao.com |title=Childhood & Family |accessdate=March 4, 2013 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121044033/https://www.elainelchao.com/childhood-family/ |url-status=dead }}

Chao attended schools near Shanghai, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University (formerly National Chiao Tung University) and Wusong Merchant Marine College, where he majored in navigation. He finished his coursework in 1949 and went to sea as a cadet on a merchant vessel. At the climax of the Chinese Civil War, Chao's ship went to Taiwan, where it remained.

Career

In the mid-1950s, Chao advanced through the ranks to become one of the youngest sea captains at the age of 29.{{cite web|url=http://bostonese.com/?p=4380? |publisher=Chinese American Academic and Professional Society (CAAPS) |title=Bio of Dr. James S.C. Chao, The Inaugural CAAPS Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award Winner |date=12 October 2012 |accessdate=June 1, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.chaofamilyfoundations.com/dr-james-s-c-chao|title=Chao Family Foundations|date=20 May 2013|access-date=8 March 2013|archive-date=7 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007014852/http://www.chaofamilyfoundations.com/dr-james-s-c-chao|url-status=dead}} He moved to the United States in 1958, settling in New York City the same year.{{cite book|last=Hutchison|first=Kay Bailey|title=Leading Ladies|url=https://archive.org/details/leadingladiesame00hutc_0|url-access=registration|accessdate=6 March 2013|date=13 October 2009|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-174832-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/leadingladiesame00hutc_0/page/359 359]}}{{cite book|last=Gall|first=Susan B.|title=Asian American Biography: A-L|url=https://archive.org/details/asianamericanbio02ziah|url-access=registration|accessdate=6 March 2013|date=1 January 1995|publisher=UXL|isbn=978-0-8103-9688-3|page=42}} He earned a master's degree in management from St. John's University in 1964.{{cite web|url=http://www.horatioalger.org/member_info.cfm?memberid=cha09|title=James S. C. Chao Chairman Foremost Group New York Class Year: 2009|publisher=Horatio Alger Association|accessdate=3 March 2013|archive-date=10 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510135847/http://www.horatioalger.org/member_info.cfm?memberid=cha09|url-status=dead}}

=Foremost Group=

In 1964, after earning his MBA, Chao founded Foremost Group, a shipping, trading and finance conglomerate based in New York.{{cite magazine|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/10/harvard-business-school-new-chao-building-fellowships|title=Harvard Business School Building Boom Continues |date=October 12, 2012|accessdate=3 March 2013 |magazine=Harvard Magazine }} Chao has led the global shipping industry in incorporating "greener", more environmentally friendly designs and technology into his company's fleet of new vessels, some of the world's largest bulk carriers. In 2004, Chao was inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame at the United Nations in recognition of his long-standing service and dedication to the international maritime trading industry.

= Foundation =

Chao and his wife established the Mulan Chu Foundation (later renamed the Shanghai Mulan Education Foundation) in 1984 to provide scholarships to help students in the U.S. and China access higher education and to promote U.S.-China cultural exchanges. In October 2012, Harvard University announced that Chao and his family foundation would bequeath $40{{spaces}}million to the Harvard Business School for the construction of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center and the establishment of the Ruth Mulan Chu and James Si-Cheng Chao Family Fellowship Fund.{{cite news |last=Koch |first=Katie |date=October 14, 2012 |title=Chao family gives $40 million to HBS |newspaper=Harvard Gazette |url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/10/chao-family-gives-40-million-to-hbs/ |accessdate=March 3, 2013}} The center is dedicated to managerial training and executive education, the first building at Harvard Business School to be named after an East Asian woman or any person bearing an East Asian surname.{{cite news |last=Dension |first=D.C. |date=October 12, 2012 |title=Harvard Business School gets $40 million family donation |newspaper=Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/10/12/chao-family-donates-million-harvard-business-school/V4kKKB6oh44u4RBylyVmxO/story.html |accessdate=March 4, 2013}}{{cite news |last=Dixon |first=Brandon J. |date=June 16, 2016 |title=Business School Names First HBS Building after a Woman, Asian American |newspaper=Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/6/16/hbs-chao-center-dedicated/ |accessdate=January 7, 2020}}

=Controversy=

Chao's daughter Elaine was U.S. Secretary of Labor during the presidency of George W. Bush and later Secretary of Transportation during the first presidency of Donald Trump. During that time, she was accused of using her office to promote her family's shipping business by appearing in interviews with Chao, and she asked Department of Transportation staff to promote her father's biography or to edit her father's Wikipedia article.{{Cite news |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |last2=Forsythe |first2=Michael |date=2021-03-03 |title=Inspector General's Report Cites Elaine Chao for Misuse of Office |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/elaine-chao-inspector-general-report.html |access-date=2021-03-03 |issn=0362-4331}}[https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/watchdog-says-elaine-chao-ex-transpo-secretary-and-mitch-mcconnells-wife-misused-office-including-making-staff-edit-her-dads-wikipedia-page/articleshow/81322064.cms Watchdog says Elaine Chao, ex-transpo secretary and Mitch McConnell's wife, misused office including making staff edit her dad's Wikipedia page], Business Insider India, LAUREN FRIAS, March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.{{Cite news|last=Snyder|first=Tanya|date=May 6, 2018|title=Did Elaine Chao's DOT interviews help her family's business?|work=POLITICO|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/06/elaine-chao-father-james-transportation-department-569686|access-date=January 8, 2021}} An investigation and report ensued. According to The New York Times, there was no finding that Secretary Chao violated ethics rules.{{Cite news |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |last2=Forsythe |first2=Michael |date=2021-03-03 |title=Inspector General's Report Cites Elaine Chao for Using Office to Help Family |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/elaine-chao-inspector-general-report.html |access-date=2023-03-20 |issn=0362-4331}} Investigation materials were provided to prosecutors, who declined to charge any crime.

Personal life

Chao met his future wife, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, when she and her family relocated to Shanghai from their ancestral estate in Anhui Province during World War II.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chaofamilyfoundations.com/ruth-mulan-chu-chao/|title=Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao – Chao Family Foundations|website=Chao Family Foundations|language=en-US|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=April 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401052259/https://www.chaofamilyfoundations.com/ruth-mulan-chu-chao/|url-status=dead}} In 1949, each relocated separately to Taiwan at the culmination of the Chinese Civil War,{{cite web |url=http://www.horatioalger.org/member_info.cfm?memberid=cha09 |publisher=Horatio Alger Association |title=James S. C. Chao Chairman Foremost Group New York Class Year: 2009 |accessdate=June 4, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510135847/http://www.horatioalger.org/member_info.cfm?memberid=cha09 |url-status=dead }} and they married in 1950. In 1958, Chao left behind his family when he moved to the United States, where they joined him in 1961.{{cite web|url=http://www.asianfortunenews.com/site/article_1007.php?article_id=59 |publisher=Asian Fortune |title=Ordinary yet Extraordinary, The Ruth Mulan Chu CHao Story |accessdate= June 4, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f055e67937387110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=34165c2af1f9e010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD |publisher=US Citizenship and Immigration Service |title=2008 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients |accessdate=June 2, 2013 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521094901/http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f055e67937387110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=34165c2af1f9e010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD |url-status=dead }} Ruth Mulan Chu Chao died on August 2, 2007, following a battle with lymphoma.{{cite web|url=http://www.asianfortunenews.com/site/article_1007.php?article_id=59 |publisher=Asian Fortune |title=Ordinary Yet Extraordinary – Ruth Mulan Chu Chao's Story |first=Elaine |last=Chao |accessdate=March 4, 2013 }} The Chaos had six daughters: Elaine, Jeanette, May, Christine, Grace and Angela. The eldest three daughters were born in Taiwan; the youngest three were born in the United States.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE1D8133AF93BA3575BC0A9619C8B63|title=Deaths CHAO, RUTH MULAN CHU|date=August 8, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=3 March 2013}}{{cite book|author=United States of America|title=Congressional Record – Proceedings and Debates of the 110th Congress – First Session|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bTX8TquufnIC&pg=RA1-PA146|accessdate=6 March 2013|publisher=Government Printing Office}}{{cite web|title=Dr. James S.C. Chao|url=http://www.theforemostfoundation.org/dr-james-sc-chao|accessdate=March 4, 2013|publisher=The Foremost Foundation}}

Chao's oldest daughter is Elaine Chao, who is the first woman of Asian Pacific American descent appointed to a US President's Cabinet. She served as Secretary of Labor from 2001 to 2009, and as Secretary of Transportation from 2017 to 2021.

Chao's daughter Angela succeeded him as CEO of Foremost Group in 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/business/angela-chao-obituary/index.html|title=Shipping CEO Angela Chao, sister of former Cabinet member Elaine Chao, dies in car crash|first=Chris|last=Isidore|date=February 14, 2024|work=CNN Business|access-date=February 15, 2024|archive-date=February 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215020115/https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/business/angela-chao-obituary/index.html|url-status=live}} She died in a car accident in February 2024.{{cite web|title=Angela Chao, shipping CEO and sister of Elaine Chao, dies in a car accident|date=13 February 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/angela-chao-foremost-group-ceo-sister-elaine-chao-dies-car-accident-rcna138620|accessdate=February 14, 2024|publisher=NBC News}}

= Awards and honors =

Chao was awarded an honorary LL.D. degree from Niagara University in 1992. Chao is the first winner of the Chinese American Academic and Professional Society Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award (2004).{{cite web|title=Bio of Dr. James S.C. Chao, The Inaugural CAAPS Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award Winner|date = 12 October 2012|url=http://bostonese.com/?p=4380|accessdate=3 March 2013|publisher=bostonese.com English-Chinese Online Journal / 波士顿华人双语网 Largest English-Chinese Bilingual News Magazine in the USA}} He was awarded the "Ellis Island Medal of Honor" (2005).{{cite web|title=World renowned Maritime celebrity, Dr. James S. C. Chao visited Fudan University|url=http://www.fuedf.org/HongKong/ViewNews.aspx?articleID=132|accessdate=3 March 2013|publisher=Fudan University Education Development Foundation}} The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizen and Immigration Service recognized him in February 2008 as an Outstanding American by Choice.

In 2009, he was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.{{cite web|title=Chao, 2009 Horatio Alger Award Winner|date=10 February 2009|url=http://www.marinelink.com/news/article/chao-2009-horatio-alger-award-winner/329635.aspx|accessdate=June 5, 2013|publisher=Marine Magazine}} Also, Nyack College conferred upon him the honorary D.Litt. degree. In 2010, the Museum of Chinese in America honored Chao with its inaugural Outstanding Achievement Award for the Chao Family; the first time ever such an honor has been awarded in its 130 years history.

Chao was an advisor, adjunct professor, and member of the St. John's University Board of Trustees for decades and the recipient of St. John's University's Medal of Honor. Chao continues as its Trustee Emeritus.

Chao was for more than a decade the Chairman of both Taiwan's Chiao-Tung University Alumni Association in America and Chiao-Tung University Alumni Foundation of America from 1988 to 1999.

References

External links

[http://www.chaofamilyfoundations.com/ Chao Family Foundations ]
[http://www.theforemostfoundation.org/ Foremost Foundation ]
[http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/10/chao-family-gives-40-million-to-hbs/ Harvard Gazette ]

Category:1927 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:20th-century American philanthropists

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American philanthropists

Category:American businesspeople in shipping

Category:American nonprofit chief executives

Category:Businesspeople from New York City

Category:Businesspeople from Shanghai

Category:Chao family

Category:Chinese-American culture in New York City