Shaz Kahng

Shaz Kahng is a CEO, board director, and award-winning author with a career spanning industries including food science, global consulting, e-commerce, and consumer brands. Kahng has worked as a scientist, strategy consulting partner, e-commerce business builder, and brand and marketing strategist. She studied food science and chemistry at Cornell University and earned an MBA from The Wharton School. Kahng became the youngest and first female minority partner at Kurt Salmon Associates, part of Accenture Strategy.

Kahng was the first woman to hold a global business profit and loss responsibility at Nike, where she led the Nike Cycling business to profitability. As CEO of Lucy Activewear, Kahng and her team restructured the company and achieved profitability in 13 months. She later served as CEO of Gymboree, where she developed a strategic business plan addressing product, marketing, retail, and supply chain. Kahng has expertise in business turnarounds, global expansion, omni-channel retail, apparel and footwear, consumer goods, luxury, and consumer technology.

Kahng serves on the board of directors for GoPro, where she is the nominating and governance committee chair. She is also compensation committee chair and audit committee member for InsideTracker, and a director for LiveGirl and Wharton Alumni for Boards. Additionally, she is a member of the Investor Advisory Council for AVG Funds, a venture capital firm. Her boardroom experience spans public companies, private equity, and venture-backed startups, contributing to her perspective on corporate governance.

Kahng is the author of the novels "The Closer" and "Smashers Synched," which follow the first female CEO of a sports company and a secret society of professional women called the Ceiling Smashers. The Ceiling Smasher fiction series has received multiple awards and explores themes of women in business and ethical leadership.

Kahng is an experienced public speaker, having delivered a Talks at Google presentation titled "The Superpowers of Ceiling Smashers." She has also spoken at the Wharton Women in Business Conference, discussing her experiences as a female senior executive. Kahng is committed to coaching and mentoring others in leadership, business strategy, and corporate governance.