BLOG: Tay Yoshitani, a target?

By Assunta Ng

his Monday, the Seattle Times supported Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani to join the Board of Directors of Expeditors International. But his new position was questioned by 13 King County legislators, citing a conflict of interest.

While there is the appearance of a conflict there’s no conflict of interest because Expeditors is not a customer of the Port. After vetting the issue, the Port’s attorneys saw no potential for conflict in Yoshitani’s appointment to the Expeditors board.

Only 9 percent Asian Americans are represented on Fortune 500 boards; and less than five percent of big corporations are headed by Asian Americans. The glass ceiling is actually the iron ceiling for many APIs.

Rather than cutting them down, we need to help more people of color achieve success. (end)