Mcconnell’s sister-in-law is killed in wreck in Texas
AUSTIN — Angela Chao, a shipping industry CEO and sister-in-law to Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, has died in a car accident, her family says.
Chao, 50, died Sunday in Texas, according to a family statement that did not provide any additional details about what happened. The Blanco County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday confirmed it was investigating an incident on private property that involved Chao, but it would not provide any additional information.
Chao was the chair and CEO of her family’s shipping business, the Foremost Group, and the president of her father’s philanthropic organization, the Foremost Foundation. She lived in Austin, which is about 50 miles east of Blanco County.
Chao was the youngest of six sisters to immigrant parents who moved to the U.S. from China in the late 1950s. Her eldest sibling, Elaine Chao, is married to Mcconnell and served as transportation secretary under President Donald Trump and labor secretary under President George W. Bush.
“Angela’s name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity,” her father, James S.C. Chao, said in the family statement. “Her absence leaves a void not only in our hearts, but in the Asian-american community.”
In 2018, Angela Chao was appointed CEO of the Foremost Group, a prominent business founded by her father and late mother, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao.
“Building on the legacy of honor, integrity and performance established by her father and our company’s founder, Dr. James S.
C. Chao, she made exceptional customer service, efficiency, and superior performance the hallmarks of her leadership,” Foremost Group said in a statement. “She was also a passionate advocate for incorporating environmentally sustainable practices throughout the company’s operations.”
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy in a post on X offered their condolences and called Chao a “trailblazer in the maritime industry.”
Chao served a number of organizations, holding board positions on the American Bureau of Shipping Council, Harvard Business
School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors, and the Metropolitan Opera, among others. She was also founding advisory council cochair of the nonprofit Asian American Foundation, as well as chair of the foundation’s education committee, which aimed to help students “access quality education.”
Her father was named chairman of Foremost Group following her death. Michael Lee, a former president, was named president.
Chao is survived by her husband, father and four sisters.