On November 30, 2022, four great Washingtonians will receive the region’s signature lifetime achievement award, joining the more than 180 Laureates in the Washington Business Hall of Fame who serve as role models to the next generation of business leaders. Their careers and backgrounds are as broad and diverse as their accomplishments are far-reaching.
The Learn About the Laureate series serves as an opportunity for the Greater Washington business community to get to know the 2022 Washington Business Hall of Fame inductees just a little bit better.
Check out Michele Kang’s Q&A with JA below!
Michele Kang
Majority Owner, The Washington Spirit
FoUnder and Chief Executive Officer, Cognosante
JA: Did you have a mentor or a role model over the course of your career?
Michele Kang: When I was growing up in South Korea, opportunities for women were extremely limited. At the time, very few women went to college to study business. The expectation was that you would leave your career behind after you got married. So, I have always been grateful to my father, who believed that nothing should be off limits to me because of my gender. From the time I was very young, he reinforced girls can do anything boys can.
JA: What is the one thing you want the Greater Washington business community to know about your company?
Michele Kang: I want everyone to know that they should see a Washington Spirit game – and that we are eager to forge new partnerships with local businesses big and small. The Spirit is home to some of the most talented athletes in the world. My goal is to make the Spirit the best team – not the best women’s team, not the best soccer team, but the best team, period. To do that, we need the best partners.
JA: If you were to create a slogan or a theme song for your life, what would it be?
Michele Kang: Frank Sinatra’s classic, “My Way.” As an entrepreneur who started a technology company above her garage, I have faced my fair share of challenges. As the first woman of color to be majority owner of a National Women’s Soccer League team, I have seen what it takes to break barriers. But, in Sinatra’s words, “I faced it all and I stood tall—and did it my way.”
“As business leaders, we have a responsibility to see the potential in all people by providing opportunities to diverse populations of candidates.”
JA: If you could choose one person, living or dead, to have dinner with, who would it be and why?
Michele Kang: There is an important phrase in the United States Constitution: “The pursuit of happiness.” I have long been inspired by this pursuit, which is the foundation of the two nations I have called home, and both are deeply intertwined with equal opportunity. I would love to talk with Thomas Jefferson—a leader not without his faults, to be sure—about the true meaning of the words.
JA: What can the Greater Washington business community do to build and sustain a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce?
Michele Kang: Focus on recruitment and retention and ask yourself where bias might be undermining your process and progress. Do your job descriptions exclude people by imposing unnecessary requirements? Do your outreach efforts exclude people by mining the same communities repeatedly? There are so many questions to consider. As business leaders, we have a responsibility to see the potential in all people by providing opportunities to diverse populations of candidates. For example, my team has created strong partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and women’s colleges. This is an amazing opportunity to introduce these students to the corporate environment with a goal of diversifying our employee population.
JA: Did you have a teacher or educator over the course of your education who had lasting impact on your life?
Michele Kang: In my experience, powerful learning happens through community, with people committed to shared values. I am grateful to have been a part of two such groups during my own education. At Ewha in South Korea, I learned how to think independently and critically from an early age. At the University of Chicago, I learned how to apply knowledge to solve real-life problems. Those are lessons I draw on still today, in business and in life.
You’re invited to support Michele Kang’s induction into the Washington Business Hall of Fame. All proceeds benefit Junior Achievement of Greater Washington’s work to prepare local students to be ready for the future.