Vivian Kao and Shou Zi Chew (both MBA 2010)

Vivian Kao and Shou Zi Chew (both MBA 2010) are a couple who often finish each other sentences. The two met over email in 2008 shortly after they’d both been admitted to HBS, but neither could have predicted that a dozen years later they’d be married with two kids and a dog, living in Beijing.

To show their appreciation for the tremendous impact HBS has had on their lives, Kao and Chew have given back to the School consistently since graduation, both as volunteers and donors. They help out with their class fundraising efforts, and Kao recently joined the HBS Alumni Board. They are members of the HBS Fund Investors Society, which recognizes leadership donors to the HBS Fund. “We want to benefit as many people as possible with our support,” says Chew, noting that their support is unrestricted. “We want the leadership of HBS to decide where to allocate our contributions. We believe the School has the ability to amplify what we contribute.”

Start Up Summer

Kao and Chew got to know each other the summer after their first year at HBS, when they both had internships in California. Kao was working for Better Place, a clean energy startup. “So many of our classmates were also working in the Bay Area. It was an amazing summer,” remembers Kao, who prior to HBS attended Wellesley College and then spent four years at Goldman Sachs.

“I was working for a startup that summer, too” adds Chew with a laugh. “It was called Facebook.” Also a former Goldman analyst, Chew grew up in Singapore and holds a BS in economics from University College London.

After earning their MBAs, the pair lived in London, Singapore, and Hong Kong before settling in Beijing, all the while keeping in close touch with HBS classmates, many of whom have visited them in the various places they’ve lived. “We’ve had a lot of contact with our HBS friends since graduation,” says Chew, noting that the people they met at HBS—including each other—are extremely important to them.

A Platform for Success

While their lives and experiences intersect in many ways, Kao and Chew each have their own area of interest. She enjoys investing and entrepreneurship. “I just love startups. I’m industry agnostic,” says Kao, now running Tamarind, a family office. She is also committed to contributing to the social sector. At the beginning of the pandemic, she used the HBS network to donate 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment from China to the United States. Chew, who is particularly drawn to the tech sector, joined Xiaomi in 2015, a Chinese technology company that he helped take public in 2018 as chief financial officer. He now oversees the company’s global business as executive director of the board and president of the international division.

“HBS opened my eyes to different perspectives that I never would have been exposed to,” says Chew, who remains grateful for the fellowship he received as a student. “The platform that HBS gave us has really helped us be successful, especially in this part of the world,” he says, citing the tight community of HBS and Harvard alumni in Asia as well as the power of the HBS brand to open doors.

“HBS is what we have in common,” says Kao, noting that their closest friends are from their HBS years. And, true to form, Chew finishes the thought. “We are grateful for what HBS has done for us, and we want to provide more opportunities for future generations.”

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