Az Business and AZRE magazines announced the publications’ lists of the Most Influential Women in Arizona for 2019 in the July issues of the magazines. Each day, azbigmedia.com is profiling one of the Most Influential Women of 2019.
The Most Influential Women for 2019 will be honored at a dinner and reception that begins at 5:30 p.m. on August 22, 2019 at the Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort. For tickets or for sponsorship information, email Josh Schimmels or click here for more details.
To buy copies of the Most Influential Women in Arizona issue, click here.
Today’s spotlight: Sharon Hwang
Title: Chief operating officer, Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC)
Hwang manages the daily operations at GPEC. She oversees the infrastructure of personnel, systems, and processes, focusing on the organization’s finance, compliance, governance, administrative, and strategic priorities. Hwang has spent over a decade scaling and operating businesses. Prior to GPEC, Hwang built the social impact platform and led community programs, partnerships, and property management initiatives for the multifamily platform of Turner Impact Capital, one of the nation’s largest social impact investors. Hwang graduated from Yale University (BA, Political Science) and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (MA, International Economics and International Relations). She has served as an elected officer on multiple nonprofit boards across the country.
Source of pride: “Before GPEC, I was an early team member at one of the world’s largest social impact private equity funds. I am proud of and grateful for a platform that allowed me to leverage my finance background to serve communities similar to one that I once called home.”
The personality trait that helped you succeed: “A respectable emotional quotient. From closing retail stores in rural towns to seeking $80 million commitments from institutional investors, I have had unique opportunities to work with people who run the gamut of the socioeconomic spectrum. Earning their trust and respect was critical for me to get anything done.”
The personality trait that got you into trouble: “Transparency. Clarity may be a virtue, but I have on several occasions had to remind myself that transparency is a means to an end – not necessarily the end itself. And yes, my poker face is laughable.”
Best childhood memory: “Family road trips. We used to load the car and drive along the Pacific Ocean from Canada to Mexico. I did not yet know that my voice had a range of three notes, and I would sing so passionately that I would lose my voice after each trip.”
