Virginia L. P'an is Chairman, CEO and founder of TransCapital Group LLC, a leading international business development and investment firm established in 1984. The firm specializes in establishing and funding new global businesses in rapid growth economies through strategic alliances partnerships, joint ventures and wholly owned enterprises. Clients range from Western multinationals to companies located in Greater China and the industrialized nations of Asia.

Virginia P’an is a seasoned global executive, successful entrepreneur and financier as well as a recognized international business expert, innovator and authority on the Pacific Rim region with over 30 years international experience. Through the years she estimates logging over 100 trips to the Asia Pacific region alone for client meetings and conferences and many senior government ministry level relationships.

As a pioneer and expert in the international financial communications and investor relations field with an intimate knowledge of global financial capital markets, P’an served as Managing Partner of KCSA Worldwide for nine years and also as Managing Director of Adam Friedland Associates, two prominent financial communications and investor relations firms located in New York. Her investor relations clients included many Asian small cap and micro cap companies including (NYSE: AOB) American Oriental Bioengineering Inc., (NASDAQ: SORL) Sorl Auto Parts Inc., (NASDAQ: CHINA) CDC Corporation and many other companies.

P’an advises senior global executives and corporate board members on issues related to strategic investments, international marketing, positioning and branding, investor relations and operations from concept and planning through implementation, execution and enhancement of operations. P’an has completed numerous business ventures in China and the Asia Pacific Region for multinational companies ranging from Pepsico Foods International, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Valmet Paper Machinery Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Leaf International, The Genlyte Group, Finnish Sugar Company, Hutamaki Oy and China Merchants Development Co., Ltd.

Virginia P’an is also a pioneer in opening the China market through joint ventures with western multinational companies and is presently engaged in negotiating 2008 Beijing Olympic Games contracts. Her success stories include the introduction of bubble and chewing gum to the 1.3 billion consumer China market as the board advisor to Leaf International, a division of Hershey Foods, Chief Negotiator on a $30 million China joint venture for Valmet Paper Machinery Co., the world’s largest paper machinery company, completion of numerous international market entry strategy studies with impact in the multi-million-investment level for clients including Lightolier and PepsiCo Foods International.

Prior to forming TransCapital Group LLC, she was the first woman Vice President at American Express Bank and architect of the national debit card banking system for Taiwan. As Senior Advisor to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Hong Kong, she was instrumental in the negotiations with the four Hong Kong stock exchanges resulting in the unified Hong Kong Stock Exchange which joined the world capital markets and today is the seventh largest bourse in the world with a daily turnover rate exceeding over 20 billion shares or market capitalization of over 10 trillion Hong Kong dollars or l.5 trillion U.S. dollars. During her distinguished career at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, P’an managed 15 Asian central bank investment portfolios valued in excess of $7 billion dollars. As Manager of Banking Operations, she supervised the Important Federal Reserve Bank’s central processing and operations division responsible for the commercial banking industry’s fund clearing and settlement in New York averaging over $250 billion or a quarter trillion dollars daily with over 400 people in a 24 hour line operating environment. P’an is also the first Chinese American woman working as a professional on Wall Street.

With an intimate knowledge of the Pacific Rim economies and broad experience base in international marketing, strategic planning, leading edge technology, investments and capital markets, P’an is regarded as an authority on successfully doing business in Asia and is frequently invited to address international and industry association conferences including the Conference Board, Asia Society, China Institute and other organizations. She was the Keynote Speaker at the Port Authority of New York’s seminar commemorating the signing of a sister port agreement with the City of Shanghai.

Virginia P’an has been profiled and featured in television and print media including Wall Street Journal Television, Business Week, New York Times, South China Morning Post, The Manila Times, The Hong Kong Standard, Asian Enterprise Magazine, USA Today and Gazelle Production’s video film entitled 21st Century Leaders. Cited as “One of the 500 most influential Asian Americans” by Avenue Asia Magazine, she was also the cover article for an issue of Minority Business Entrepreneur Magazine entitled Chinese Legacy, a Niche in the Financial Market Meant Success for TransCapital. She is also the recipient of the 2006 Business Innovation Award at the 2nd Annual Conference of America-China Women Business Leaders. In 2003 she was honored with the prestigious “The Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World” Award.

She is an active Board member and Advisor to many professional and cultural organizations including the Luxury Marketing Council, Women’s Business Research (CWBR), Babson Graduate School of Business, International Women’s Forum (IWF),National Committee on US-China Relations, the Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World, the Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute (APAWLI) Trustee, the Asia Society, the China Institute, the Women’s Leadership Exchange, Chinese American Executive Forum, and Women's Economic Roundtable, the New York New Media Association and AIESEC US Board of Directors, the world’s premier International student organization dedicated to developing global leadership in young professionals by providing international work internships opportunities in 83 countries and 800 universities around the world.

Born in China, P’an moved with her family to the United States at the age of ten and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and several other Chinese dialects. She is a graduate of the City University of New York and attended executive management courses at Harvard Graduate School of Business, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and the American Express Company executive programs.

P’an is happily married to Albert, a financier, educator and engineer, with two adult children, Everett and Jessica, both raised to be entirely at home in a global environment. She has many personal interests including cultural activities, sailing, tennis, gourmet cooking, interior design, gardening, international travel and family.

MOST REQUESTED TOPICS

China’s Economic Miracle

China is now a global economic powerhouse with over $1.33 trillion dollars in foreign exchange reserves; the largest in world history. Virginia P’an will lead you through the evolution of how China developed its economy over the past twenty years, describing the major contributing factors that sustained its breakneck economic development pace. She will share her insights about the continuation of this pace of growth and its implications on China’s place in the world economy in the 21st Century.

China as a Global Superpower Engineers the 2008 Beijing Olympics for a New Millennium

China will spend a record $41 billion on the 2008 XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing on August 2008. Virginia P’an explains how China is using the Olympics as its global coming out party, its “debutante ball” exhibiting its national pride. China plans to showcase its prowess in politics, economics, technology and science, infrastructure design and construction, manufacturing and finance with the XXIX Olympic Games.

Investing in China’s Growth

China’s emerging stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen have provided Chinese companies with a source new capital and liquidity; and have given China’s middle class with historically high savings rate places to invest. Government restrictions have limited the size of companies that can list to only the largest ones. Smaller companies had to look outside China for new investment capital. These numbers will increase as more and more companies in China aggressively pursue ambitions to become global powerhouses. Virginia P’an will help you develop an understanding of the various ways one can invest and benefit from China’s growth.

The Role of Women in 21st Century China and China’s Powerful Women

While women have always played a prominent role in Chinese society, women have shared an equal role in contributing to China’s economic success story of the 21st century. Women in China today have power and share leadership roles with men in all facets of society including politics, business, education and medical professions. Virginia P’an will describe powerful women throughout China’s history with examples of women in science, industry and government today.

Does China’s Health Care System Need to be Reinvented?

The emergence of China as a market driven economy and the end of centrally controlled industry have dramatically changed the health care system. Free clinics funded by the government have been replaced by hospitals that must operate as profit centers. While the government regulates the costs of medicines and fees at public hospitals, people must now pay for any services they use. As a result, many go untreated for lack of funds. There has evolved a two tiered health system – private hospitals for people who can afford good service and public hospitals for everyone else. Virginia P’an will give you an in depth understanding of the health care situation in China today and the impending crisis in the foreseeable future.

Business, Women, International Business, Strategic Leadership