US-China business trailblazer dies at 85
Shirley Young — a prominent Chinese-American who began in marketing in New York City and helped to transform business relations between China and the United States — has died, her family said Sunday.
Young, 85, passed away Saturday night, one of her three sons, David Hsieh, told The Post.
“She was a real trailblazer,’’ Hsieh said of his mother.
Young was born in Shanghai and moved as a child to the Philippines, where her diplomat father served as consul general for China until he was executed when the Japanese invaded during World War II.
Around age 11 or 12, Young moved to Manhattan with her mother and two sisters.
Young, asked about her first impression of the US in a 2003 interview with Bill Moyers, said, “I thought we’d reached heaven.”
One of her first jobs was with Grey Advertising, where she would spend more than 20 years pioneering market research.
She went from there to become corporate vice president at General Motors from 1988 to 1999.
“She was very influential helping to introduce GM to China,’’ Hsieh said, noting his mom’s “unique perspective’’ on her homeland.
When Young retired from GM, she concentrated on something close to her heart — the arts.
Young, who served as a board director of the New York Philharmonic, had a personal connection because she was a musician, too.
“She was a phenomenal piano player growing up and had contemplated becoming a concert pianist,’’ said Hsieh.
She also co-founded the Committee of 100, a national Chinese-American business-leadership group, and served on a slew of top boards — including as vice chair of the Nominating Committee of the New York Stock Exchange.