AAPI Business Leadership Breakfast 2026
I always show up early. It’s the Type A and former consultant in finance thing. But honestly, it’s the only way to really see what a room is about before it gets loud.
That morning, watching the space fill, I could feel it was going to be different.
Over 100 AAPI business leaders gathered for a morning focused on adaptive leadership in a rapidly changing environment. The speakers, Paul W. Lee, Jay Tuli, Raymond Ahn, Kimberly Blakemore, and Gogi Gupta, weren’t there to polish things up. They were there to be honest. Kimberly talked about holding two things at once, knowing when to get into the weeds and never losing sight of the bigger picture. Gogi got vulnerable about the moment self-employment stopped being an option and became the only option. These aren’t the moments you script.
One of the best things about photographing leadership events is capturing what happens when people decide to show up as themselves. The conversation that goes deeper than the planned remarks. The nod from someone in the audience who’s lived exactly what the speaker just described. The moment when a room full of high-achievers realizes they’re not alone in asking hard questions.
That’s what this breakfast was. Honest.
