In a year marked by seismic shifts in representation and cultural influence, Gold House‘s A100 List – the definitive roster of the most impactful Asian Pacific leaders – arrives not as a celebration of success alone, but as a powerful reminder of how far the Asian diaspora has come, and how much further it intends to go.

Unveiled by Gold House, a nonprofit known for galvanising Asian Pacific creative and commercial power, the annual A100 List spans industries from entertainment and tech to fashion and public policy. It honours both household names and quiet changemakers who are reshaping the cultural landscape in lasting ways.

This year’s list reads like a roll call of revolutionaries. Director Jon M. Chu, comedian Bowen Yang, and Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh lead the charge in entertainment, with Wicked – now the highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation in history – breaking new ground. Meanwhile, Squid Game‘s second season continued to dominate global viewership on Netflix, proving that the Korean-language series was no flash in the pan.

In music, genre-bending achievements abound. Icelandic-Chinese jazz singer Laufey made Grammy history, while K-pop megastar ROSÉ teamed up with Bruno Mars for a record-smashing collaboration that garnered half a billion views in record time. In sport, Shohei Ohtani reached a historic 50/50 milestone in Major League Baseball, while swimmer Torri Huske became the most decorated Asian American Olympian at the Paris Games.

Yet it’s not only established figures making headlines. The A100’s “New Gold” honourees – including K-pop girl group aespa, climate activist Sophia Kinna, and fashion designer Sohee Park – point to a vibrant next generation of Asian Pacific talent poised to take the global stage.

Technology and policy are also central to this year’s recognitions. AI pioneers such as Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and OpenAI’s Mark Chen feature prominently, while leaders like Water.org’s Vedika Bhandarkar and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai remind us that innovation must go hand in hand with equity and sustainability.

“The A100 List illuminates the profound cultural imprint of the Asian Pacific community,” said Bing Chen and Jeremy Tran, CEO and COO of Gold House. “We honour not just achievement but those courageous enough to take the first steps—those we call ‘First Lights.’”

Among the industry “A1s” – those selected as the most impactful in their categories – are Perplexity AI’s CEO Aravind Srinivas (Business & Technology), filmmaker Jon M. Chu (Entertainment), and Indian fashion luminary Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Fashion & Lifestyle). In sports, an ensemble of Asian American athletes – Suni Lee, Lee Kiefer, Torri Huske and Chuck Aoki – were named collectively for their record-breaking Olympic and Paralympic performances.

Read more: AAPI Month Kicks Off With A100 List Featuring Shogun, Jungkook, Son Heung-Min, and More

The A100 weekend in May will see honourees fêted across Los Angeles at a series of high-profile events, culminating in the glitzy Gold Gala. Hosted in partnership with the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and East West Bank, the gala will also pay tribute to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s 25th anniversary, with its lead actress Zhang Ziyi receiving the Gold Bridge Legacy Award for her cultural impact.

Among the standout lifetime achievements recognised this year are those of director Ang Lee, writer Min Jin Lee, and Tsunekazu Ishihara, the longtime CEO of The Pokémon Company. Meanwhile, those honoured for appearing on the list multiple times – including Canva’s Melanie Perkins and comedian Ronny Chieng – are inducted into the Gold House Hall of Fame.

The celebrations won’t be confined to Los Angeles. Cities across North America will light up iconic landmarks in gold – from New York’s Empire State Building to the CN Tower in Toronto – in a collective nod to the growing cultural power of the Asian Pacific community.

This year’s theme, “Tiny Hopes,” finds voice in a short film narrated by actor and musician Darren Criss. It weaves together stories of humble beginnings and improbable rises, reminding audiences that what begins as a whisper of potential can become a roar of change.

For many in the diaspora, the A100 List is more than a moment of recognition – it’s a movement. A declaration that Asian Pacific stories are no longer waiting in the wings, but centre stage, where they’ve always belonged.

2025 A100 List

A1s

The A1 is given to the individual or group who is the most impactful in their category and is
selected from A100 Honorees.
● A1 in Business & Technology: Aravind Srinivas (Co-Founder and CEO, Perplexity AI)
● A1 in Entertainment & Media: Jon M. Chu (Filmmaker)
● A1 in Fashion & Lifestyle: Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Founder and Creative Director,
Sabyasachi)
● A1 in Social Impact: Los Angeles Wildfire Heroes
● A1 in Sports & Gaming: Suni Lee, Lee Kiefer, Torri Huske, and Chuck Aoki
(Record-breaking Team USA Athletes of Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games)

A100

The A100 recognizes the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders on culture and society over
the past year.

Business & Technology

● Aaron & Albert Yang (Co-CEOs, Din Tai Fung North America)
● Andrea Cherng (Chief Brand Officer, Panda Restaurant Group)
● Ashok Sinha & Mae Cheng (Chief Communications Officer & EVP and GM of Events and
Luxury, Dow Jones)
● Barbara Peng (CEO, Business Insider)
● Ben Sun (Co-Founder, Primary Venture Partners)
● Chris Suh (CFO, Visa)
● Demis Hassabis (Co-Founder and CEO, Google DeepMind)
● Hiroki Asai (Global Head of Marketing, Airbnb)
● Hock Tan (President and CEO, Broadcom)
● Jay Puri (EVP of Worldwide Field Operations, NVIDIA)
● Karthik Rao (CEO, Nielsen)
● Kaz Nejatian (COO, Shopify)
● Kevan Parekh (CFO, Apple)
● Krishna Rao (CFO, Anthropic)
● Mamoon Hamid (Partner, Kleiner Perkins)
● Mark Chen (Chief Research Officer, OpenAI)
● Matt Madrigal (CTO, Pinterest)
● Melody Lee (CMO, Mercedes-Benz USA)
● Pali Bhat (Chief Product Officer, Reddit)
● Pejman Nozad (Partner, Pear VC)
● Shyam Sankar (CTO, Palantir Technologies)
● Sridhar Ramaswamy (CEO, Snowflake)
● Uvashni Raman (CFO, Booking.com)
● Walter & Shirley Wang (Chairman and CEO, JM Eagle & Founder and CEO, Plastpro Inc.)
● Wang Ning (CEO, Popmart)

Entertainment and Media

● Abdullah Saeed, Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh & Poorna Jagannathan (Lead Cast & Creators,
Deli Boys)
● Alex Yee (Co-Creator and Screenwriter of Arcane, Riot Games)
● Amy Homma (Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
● Andrew Ahn, Anita Gou, Bowen Yang, Han Gi-Chan & Kelly Marie Tran (Lead Cast &
Creators, The Wedding Banquet)
● Anjali Sud (CEO, Tubi)
● Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Dave Derrick Jr. & Dana Ledoux Miller (Lead Cast &
Directors, Moana 2)
● Bong Joon Ho (Director)
● Bruno Mars (Music Artist)
● Charli xcx (Music Artist)
● Darren Criss & Helen J. Shen (Lead Actors, Maybe Happy Ending)
● David Henry Hwang & Daniel Dae Kim (Playwright & Lead Actor, Yellow Face)
● Derek Chang (President and CEO, Liberty Media)
● Han Kang (Author)
● Imran Majid (Co-Chairman and CEO, Island Records)
● Jon M. Chu, Michelle Yeoh & Bowen Yang (Director & Actors, Wicked)
● Junkoo Kim & David J. Lee (Founder and CEO & CFO and COO, WEBTOON
Entertainment)
● Laufey (Grammy Award-winning Music Artist)
● Lee Byung-hun, Lee Jung-jae & Hwang Dong-hyuk (Lead Cast & Creator, Squid Game
Season 2)
● LISA (Rapper, Singer, Dancer, Actress, and member of BLACKPINK)
● Maer Roshan (Co-Editor-in-Chief, The Hollywood Reporter)
● Mike Van (CEO, Billboard)
● Nicole Scherzinger (Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling Singer, Actress, and
Dancer)
● Nihar Malaviya (CEO, Penguin Random House)
● Rahul Purini (President, Crunchyroll)
● Ramin Setoodeh (Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety)
● Ravi Ahuja (President and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment)
● ROSÉ (Music Artist)
● Samantha Quan (Academy Award-winning Producer)
● Sarlina See (CFO, Penske Media Corporation)
● SEVENTEEN (K-pop Group)
● Tyla (Music Artist)
● Will Lee & Ryan Joe (CEO & Editor-in-Chief, ADWEEK)

Fashion & Lifestyle

● Anita Dongre (Chairwoman, Founder, and Chief Creative Officer, House of Anita
Dongre)
● Drew Afualo (Content Creator, Women’s Rights Advocate, Podcast Host, and NY Times
Best-Selling Author)
● Earl Ninsom (Chef and Founder)
● Imran Amed (Founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief, The Business of Fashion)
● Jennifer Wong (CEO, Aritzia)
● Jenny Ming (CEO, Rothy’s)
● Joyce Kim (Chief Product Officer, Rare Beauty)
● Michael Mente, Divya Mathur & Raissa Gerona (Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Chief
Merchandising Officer and Fashion Director & Chief Brand Officer, REVOLVE Group Inc.)
● Michelle Kuo (Chief Curator at Large and Publisher, Museum of Modern Art)
● Peggy Roe & Jennifer Hsieh (EVP and Chief Customer Officer & Managing VP and
Global Category Leader of Endorsed Brands and Experiences, Marriott International)
● Priya Krishna (New York Times Best-Selling Author, Restaurant Critic, and New York
Times Reporter)
● Sandeep Seth & Joon Silverstein (Chief Growth Officer and President, Tapestry
International & Chief Marketing Officer, Coach)
● Trisha Ayyagari & Amy Whang (Global Brand President, Maybelline New York &
President, Maybelline New York, Garnier, essie USA)

Social Impact

● Andy Kim (United States Senator)
● Cathy Cha (President and CEO, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund)
● Chris Leong (Chief Sustainability Officer, Schneider Electric)
● Don Chen (President, Surdna Foundation)
● Dr. Mariko Silver (President and CEO, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts)
● Dr. Rajiv J. Shah (President, The Rockefeller Foundation)
● Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Laureate)
● Meroë Park (Executive Leader and Public Servant)
● Neil G. Ruiz (Head of New Research Initiatives, Pew Research Center)
● Olivia Munn (Actor, Activist, and Mother)
● Shyla Raghav (Chief Climate Officer, TIME)
● Terumi Tanaka (Co-Chairperson, Nihon Hidankyo)
● Vedika Bhandarkar (President and COO, Water.org)
● Versha Sharma (Editor-in-Chief, Teen Vogue)

Sports & Gaming

● Charlie Wen (Chief Creative Officer, Epic Games)
● Clara Wu Tsai & Joseph Tsai (Owners of the New York Liberty, 2024 WNBA Champions,
and the Brooklyn Nets)
● Dave Roberts, Shohei Ohtani, Tommy Edman & Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Manager &
Players, LA Dodgers)
● FAKER (T1 Pro-gamer and Co-Owner of T1 Entertainment & Sports)
● Jordan Mailata (Offensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles)
● Lydia Ko (Olympic Golfer)
● Maya Yoshida (Defender, LA Galaxy)
● Michele Kang (Founder and CEO, Kynisca)
● Shams Charania (Senior NBA Insider, ESPN)
● Tagu Kato (Chief Design Officer, Roblox)
● Uzma Rawn Dowler (CMO and SVP of Global Corporate Partnerships, MLB)
● Virat Kohli (Professional Cricket Player)

A100 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Individuals who have been on prior A100 lists are selected for induction into the Hall of Fame
as a tribute to their continued and consistent impact.
● Eric Kim (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Goodwater Capital)
● Melanie Perkins (Co-Founder and CEO, Canva)
● Ronny Chieng (Actor and Comedian)

GOLD LEGENDS

The Gold Legend Honor recognizes a lifetime of indelible contributions to the success and
representation of the Asian Pacific community.
● Gold Legend in Business & Technology: Tsunekazu Ishihara (CEO, The Pokémon
Company)
● Gold Legend in Entertainment & Media: Ang Lee (Filmmaker)
● Gold Legend in Literary Arts: Min Jin Lee (Author)

NEW GOLD

The New Gold Honor recognizes rising leaders who will redefine canon for the Asian Pacific
community.
● aespa (K-pop Group)
● Ankur Jain (Founder and CEO, Bilt)
● Dominic Fike (Actor and Music Artist)
● James Sweeney (Filmmaker)
● Jay Graber & Rose Wang (CEO & COO, Bluesky)
● Liang Wenfeng (CEO, Deepseek)
● Nikko Remigio (Wide Receiver, Kansas City Chiefs)
● Sohee Park (Fashion Designer)
● Sophia Kianni (Founder, Climate Cardinals and Phia)
● Zaria Parvez (Senior Global Social Media Manager, Duolingo)

2025 A100 Selection Committee

Icon Judges

● Andrew & Peggy Cherng (Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Panda Restaurant Group)
● Apolo Anton Ohno (8x Olympic Medalist and Investor)
● Ben Fong-Torres (Journalist)
● Bill Imada (Chairman and Chief Connectivity Officer, IW Group)
● Cris Abrego (Co-Founder and CEO, Hyphenate Media Group)
● Cynthia Erivo (Grammy, Emmy, Tony-winning, and Oscar-nominated Actress, Singer,
Songwriter, and Producer)
● Dado & Maria Banatao (Founders and Managing Partners, Tallwood Venture Capital)
● David Ono (News Anchor, ABC7)
● Far East Movement (Multi-Platinum Music Group)
● Janet Yang (Award-winning Producer and President of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences)
● Jeff Rosenthal (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, CIV; Co-Founder, Summit; and
Co-Owner, Powder Mountain)
● Jessica Sibley (CEO, TIME)
● Julia S. Gouw (Trustee of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
● Lisa Ling (Journalist and Host)
● Kristi Yamaguchi (Founder, Always Dream and Olympic Gold Medalist)
● Martin Yan (Chef and Host, Yan Can Cook)
● Rich Ross (Entertainment Executive)
● Shelley Zalis (CEO and Founder, The Female Quotient)
● Steve Chen (Co-Founder, YouTube)
● Tiffany R. Warren (EVP, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Sony Music Group Founder
and President, ADCOLOR Board Chair, American Advertising Federation)

Community Judges

● 3AF
● Act to Change
● APAICS (Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies)
● Apex for Youth
● Asian American Voices for Education
● Asian Business Association
● Asian Mental Health Collective
● CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)
● Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
● Council of Korean Americans (CKA)
● Cutfruit Collective
● East West Players
● Every Voice Texas: Asian Texans for Justice
● ICAN (International Children Assistance Network)
● Korean American Artist Collective
● Kua’aina Ulu Auamo
● Lavender Phoenix
● LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics)
● Muslim Public Affairs Council
● NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
● NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers)
● NCAPA (National Council of Asian Pacific Americans)
● PEAK (Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti)
● Pop Culture Collaborative
● Purple Mai’a Foundation
● Red Canary Song
● The Asian American Foundation
● The Legal Clinic (Immigration Law & Justice Network-Hawaiʻi)
● The Salon
● Transplanting Traditions Community Farm
● USPAACC (U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce)
● Visual Communication