The Los Angeles Post

Committee of 100 Mourns the Passing of Shirley Young, Co-Founder and Former Chair of C100

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New York, NY, December 28, 2020 — The Committee of 100 is greatly saddened by the passing of inaugural Committee of 100 member and First Chair Shirley Young. Ms. Young passed away in the evening on December 26 at Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital in New York City. She was 85 years old.

Yo-Yo Ma, Henry Tang and Oscar Tang, co-founders of C100 with Ms. Young, stated “Shirley cared deeply for the mission and future of C100. It was her wish that all members will come together, as accomplished citizens of this country, to enhance the role of all Chinese Americans.”

H. Roger Wang, Chairman of Committee of 100, stated “The Committee of 100 Board of Directors would like to express our deepest sorrow at the passing of Shirley Young, one of C100’s founders and its first Chair. This is heartbreaking news, and our deepest condolences go out to her family and friends who are
grieving her loss, many of them at C100.”

Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100, stated “The Committee of 100 has lost one of its iconic members and someone who was a trailblazer in the advancement of Chinese Americans. Ms. Young was an active member in all of Committee of 100’s work and continued to support the organization for the past 30 years. Her passion for arts and cultural exchange between the U.S. and China will long be remembered, and her legacy on Chinese American issues will continue to guide our work at Committee of 100. She will be greatly missed.”
Ms. Young was Governor and first Chairwoman of the Committee of 100 and served as Chairwoman of the U.S.-China Cultural Institute. She served on the worldwide Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy and on its Asia-Pacific Council, the Board of the New York Philharmonic, and the Board of the National Dance Institute. Ms. Young was appointed to the President’s Commission on Executive Exchange and was a member of the Business Advisory Council for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Most recently, Ms. Young was President of Shirley Young Associates, LLC, a business advisory company, and served as senior advisor to General Motors in China. From 1988 until December 31, 1999, she served as Corporate Vice President of General Motors Corp. As Vice President for China Strategic Development and Asia Pacific Counselor, Ms. Young was a key driver in General Motors’ landmark investment in China’s auto industry. 

A recognized expert in brand development and consumer motivations, Ms. Young spent her earlier career at Grey Advertising, becoming Executive Vice President, member of the Agency Policy Council and President of Grey Strategic Marketing. Her work involved strategic marketing and communications for a broad spectrum of companies in a wide range of fields, including food and beverage, drugs and household products, cosmetics and fashion, automotive, appliances, airlines, and retail.

Ms. Young previously served on the Board of Teletech Holding, Inc. and Salesforce.com. She also served as Director of Bank of America, Bell Atlantic/Verizon Corporation, Dayton-Hudson/Target Corporation, Holiday Inn/Promus/Harrah’s, the Bombay Company and as Vice Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the New York Stock Exchange.

In China, Ms. Young was an honorary professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing; Tongji University, Shanghai; and Huazhong Technology University, Wuhan; and honorary trustee of Jiaotong University in Shanghai. In the U.S., she was a trustee emeritus of Interlochen Center for the Arts and served as a trustee of Wellesley College and on the Board of Directors of the Associates of the Harvard Business School, and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, as well as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Young received many awards for outstanding efforts in marketing and advertising. She was named Advertising Woman of the Year by the American Advertising Federation and received the Women’s Equity Action Award for Achievement in Advertising. Northwood University named her Outstanding Business Leader. Catalyst awarded her the Catalyst Award for Outstanding Corporate Director and the Chinese-American Planning Council named her Woman of the Year. She received a Director’s Choice Award from the National Women’s Economic Alliance. Ms. Young was also a key driver in the advancement of Lunar New Year celebrations at cultural institutions across the globe. 

Ms. Young was a graduate of Wellesley College, Phi Beta Kappa, and was a recipient of the Wellesley College Alumna Achievement Award. She is survived by her three sons, David, William, and Douglas and seven grandchildren.