Hong Kong native, former powerhouse executive to keynote OCU women's leadership conference

“So not only was I discriminated against for being an immigrant, small person and one of color,” said Tam, a Hong Kong native who came to America in the mid 1970s to earn, in four years, her bachelor's in food and nutrition and master's in economics at Oregon State University, “but also as a woman.”

Still, the future powerhouse female executive didn't use the setbacks as an excuse not to succeed, she told The Oklahoman on a telephone interview from her home in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Tam, who went on to serve as former president of Reebok Apparel, vice president of Nike and principal of several of her own entrepreneurial ventures, will give the keynote address at the Oklahoma City University's fourth annual women's leadership conference 8 to 11:30 a.m., March 7 in the Gardner Conference Center at the Meinders School of Business, NW 27 and McKinley.

Presented by the Meinders School, Chaparral Energy and Chesapeake Energy Corp., the event includes a panel discussion on personal branding by local executives Stephania Grober of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Gail Huneryager of Crowe & Dunlevy, Jenee Lister of Merrill Lynch, Donna Miller of Chaparral and Ashley Perkins of Cox Communications. Cox's Mollie Andrews will moderate.

The second girl born to a traditional Chinese family, Tam said she was told early on that she was worthless, and consequently learned relatively early — by her late 20s — not to seek approval from outside sources.