John T.C. Lee and Karthik Narain,
along with 50 Asian American executives to be honored at gala dinner September 18, 2024
NEW YORK, Sept 4th, 2024 – John T.C. Lee and Karthik Narain will be honored at the 2024 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business black-tie dinner gala, which is marking its 23rd year of recognizing excellence in corporate professionals and entrepreneurs.
Additionally, the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC), which created the premier awards, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. To date, AABDC has recognized more than 1,200 Asian American corporate executives and entrepreneurs, representing scores of industries nationwide. Its highest honor is the Pinnacle Award, which has recognized a roster of C-Suite leaders at the helm of major brands.
In 2024, AABDC will honor John T.C. Lee and Karthik Narain as dual Pinnacle Award recipients. Dr. Lee is President and Chief Executive Officer of MKS Instruments, Inc, and a thought leader in the semiconductors, photonics and chemistries industry. Karthik serves as Accenture’s Group Chief Executive of Technology and Chief Technology Officer. As an experienced technologist, Karthik was a leader in generative AI for Accenture.
The Pinnacle Award winner last year was Raj Subramaniam, the President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of FedEx Corporation.
“Every year, we look forward to this prestigious event with great excitement as it exemplifies the key role that AABDC plays in society and to the AAPI community – as a champion and advocate of Asian American economic and business contributions and as a celebration of business excellence,” said John Wang, President and Founder of AABDC.
“As AABDC also marks three decades since our founding, this year’s gala dinner serves as a double celebration, and an opportunity for us to announce our vision for the future of our organization and the signature programs that we have become known for,” Mr. Wang added.
AABDC is formulating plans that will include the installation of a new board of directors who will ensure the organization has a stable foundation to continue its programs for the community and expand.
Each year, the Outstanding 50 award committee identifies and selects outstanding leaders who have built a successful business or who have distinguished themselves in their community. Of those, the committee also identifies a top Pinnacle Award recipient who has reached the acme of his/her professional career and is widely acknowledged as a leader in their industry.
The prominent event typically draws over 600 leading business, political and civic leaders to pay tribute to the outstanding entrepreneurs and corporate executives in the Asian American business community from across the United States.
About AABDC:
The Asian American Business Development Center, Inc.is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1994. It assists Asian American businesses in strengthening their capacity to compete in the mainstream market, to expand business opportunities and to promote recognition of Asian American businesses’ contributions to the general economy. AABDC: www.aabdc.com
For information about attending the conference and dinner event, please contact AABDC Program Manager Evelyn Liu at 212-966-0100 or evelyn.liu@aabdc.com Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC):
Outstanding 50 Awards: www.aabdc.com/event/outstanding-50-award
Pinnacle Award winners:
John T.C. Lee, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, MKS Instruments, Inc.
Dr. Lee has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of MKS Instruments, Inc. since
January 2020. Dr. Lee joined MKS in 2007 and has held a number of senior leadership positions, including President and Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and leadership roles managing various business units, culminating in Senior Vice President of Business Units.
Prior to joining MKS, Dr. Lee held senior management roles at Applied Materials, Inc. from 2002
to 2007, including Managing Director of Factory Technology and Projects within the Solar
Business Group and General Manager of the Cleans Product Group and the Maydan Technology Center. Prior to Applied Materials, Dr. Lee served from 1997 until 2002 as Research Director of the Silicon Fabrication Research Department at Lucent Technologies, Inc. From 1991 until 1997, he was a Member of the Technical Staff in the Plasma Processing Research Group within Bell Labs.
He has served on the MKS Board of Directors since 2020 and on the board of directors of Cognex Corporation since 2022. He has also served as Vice Chair and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts High Technology Council since 2021.
Dr. Lee holds a B.S. from Princeton University and both an M.S.CEP and a PhD from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in Chemical Engineering.
Karthik Narain, Group Chief Executive of Technology and Chief Technology Officer, Accenture
Karthik Narain is Accenture’s Group Chief Executive of Technology and Chief Technology
Officer (CTO) and is a member of the company’s Global Management Committee. Karthik
oversees all aspects of Accenture’s Technology business and leads the company’s
technology vision and execution strategy. Additionally, he is Chair of the Board of Avanade,
Accenture’s joint venture with Microsoft. Karthik’s role spans cloud, data & AI, enterprise &
industry technologies, security, software, platform and infrastructure engineering as well
as all of Accenture’s technology ecosystem partnerships and Accenture’s Advanced
Technology Centers.
Prior to his appointment as Group Chief Executive and CTO, Karthik served as the lead for
Accenture Cloud First and the company’s Data & AI business. In this role, he led teams
helping clients move, shape and operate their businesses in the cloud and unlock the
power of data & AI. Since the formation of Cloud First in 2020, cloud has become a top
growth driver for the company. Accenture is recognized as a leader in cloud services
market share and thought leadership by the technology ecosystem and industry analysts.
He has extended the company’s leadership with ecosystem partners and driven
substantial investments in solutions, acquisitions and talent to keep Accenture at the
forefront of the industry.
Most recently, Karthik helped define Accenture’s approach and establish an early lead in
generative AI through investments in its Center for Advanced AI; new ecosystem
partnerships; and a new data & AI strategy for the company.
Karthik, who joined Accenture in 2015, brings a diverse set of experiences to his roles as
Group Chief Executive and CTO. Over his 24-year career, he has led many strategic and
innovative programs for clients across a variety of industry sectors, including Financial
Services, High Tech and Software and Platforms. Karthik previously led Accenture
Technology in North America, helping guide Global 2000 brands in using the power of the
cloud and other technologies to transform their businesses. He is also an active sponsor in
the Technology Women’s Executive Leadership program, supporting the growth of
Accenture’s most senior women leaders in Technology.
