Bain boss Manny Maceda among most influential Asians in US
Manny Maceda, Bain & Company’s worldwide managing partner, has been named as one of the most influential Asians in the US, with the consulting firm also becoming a founding partner of a new anti-hate organization.
Bain & Company’s worldwide managing partner Manny Maceda has once again made the list of most impactful Asians in the US – honored as one of 100 influential people of Asian and Pacific Island (AAPI) descent with a 2021 Gold House award. Meanwhile, Bain, together with fellow strategy consulting firm McKinsey & Company, has become a founding partner of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) – a recently-launched organization aimed at fostering racial inclusion.
A three-decade Bain veteran, Maceda has led the consulting firm through solid growth since first taking over as worldwide managing partner in 2018 – the first person of Asian heritage to be elected to the role (of Filipino descent, Maceda was born in the US and raised in the Philippines). Backing up on last year’s recognition, he has once again been deemed as the most impactful AAPI in the consulting industry by Gold House, a US-based Asian cultural organization coalition.
Headlining the list this year was newly inaugurated US vice president Kamala Harris, with recent best director Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao, current Australian and US Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka, Zoom founder Eric Yuan, and Reddit COO Jen Wong – a former senior associate with McKinsey – among other prominent public figures on this year’s list. Inter-generational Star Trek pair George Takei and Michelle Yeoh were among the judges.
“Our leaders can no longer just be great – they must be good. They can’t just represent us in celebration, they must also elevate us when we’re in pain,” said Gold House president Bing Chen, with recent acts of racially motivated violence in the US heavily backgrounding this year’s awards. “That’s why this year’s list spotlights leaders who were excellent in achievement and eminent in activism. This is, in so many ways, the fight for our lives – and we need fighters who see that.”
The announcement of the awards coincided with the launch of advocacy and support entity The Asian American Foundation, which has raised $125 million to put towards AAPI organizations and causes over the coming five years. Both Bain and McKinsey are founding partners of the organization, which will combat discrimination through funding of anti-hate projects, investment into data and research, and by way of greater education to celebrate AAPI contributions.
“(The) launch of TAAF gives me hope for our collective ability to stand united in the face of AAPI hate and to improve representation for the 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the US, including me and many of my Bain colleagues,” Maceda said. “I’m proud that Bain & Company is committed to advancing racial equality, in part by partnering with organizations, including TAAF, that can make a difference in addressing racism in all its forms.”
Meanwhile, in a more lighthearted approach to addressing casual racism, Maceda’s Denver-based colleague and Bain partner David Cho took to LinkedIn earlier this year to publicly deny he was the same David Cho who had become somewhat of a social media sensation after being spotted leading Joe Biden’s Secret Service security detail. (“Cho” is the sixth-most common surname in South Korea). Consultant Cho wished his fellow Korean-American David Cho's all the best in their endeavors.
