Having Executive Presence in High-Stakes Conversations #AsianHeritageWeek
How Asian Women Can Be Seen & Heard When It Matters
When the pressure’s on—whether it’s a high-stakes meeting, a career-defining presentation, or navigating tension with a senior leader—executive presence is what sets leaders apart. It’s not just about what you say, but how you say it. Yet for many Asian women, cultural norms around humility, respect for hierarchy, and being nice can make it difficult to speak up with power and be seen as strategic leaders.
This talk is designed to help you shift that dynamic. In this empowering 60-minute session, Yue Zhao—a former Chief Product Officer turned executive coach—will share strategies to help you lead with confidence, influence key stakeholders, and command a room without compromising who you are. You’ll walk away with actionable tips to bring your full presence to the moments that matter most—whether you’re asking for a promotion, managing a difficult conversation, or advocating for your ideas at the executive level.
This special event is part of our AAPI Heritage Month celebration and is proudly hosted by the Asian Women Empowerment Network, a community dedicated to elevating Asian women into positions of leadership and influence. The session will be hosted by AWE Network Founder, Denise Ang, and facilitated by Caitlin Chou, USC Marshall MBA Candidate. Together, we invite you to join this empowering conversation designed to help Asian women show up with confidence and presence in high-stakes moments.
👩🏻💼 This is for you if you are an Asian woman who is:
A rising professional preparing for your next big promotion or role
A team lead or manager who wants to be taken more seriously by peers and execs
A high-performing individual contributor ready to step into more visible leadership
Someone who’s ever been told to “speak up more” or “be more confident”
🎤 About The Speaker:
Yue Zhao
Yue Zhao is a Chief Product Officer turned Career Coach who helps women and minority leaders break through to the C-suite. She has coached hundreds of aspiring executives since 2016, is an instructor at Reforge and Maven, and is the author of The Uncommon Executive: Breakthrough to the C-suite as a Minority.
Prior, Yue spent 15+ years as a product executive in consumer tech. She was the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Fuzzy Pet Health, PM manager at Meta and Instagram, and first PM at Thumbtack. She has also been a VC-backed founder, venture partner at LifeX Ventures, and a consultant at McKinsey and Company. Yue has an MBA from Harvard Business School and B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
This event is a part of #AsianHeritageWeek by Asian Hustle Network, celebrating the Asian community worldwide.