Panama, July 15, 2020. During its monthly meeting, the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE) recognized Engineer Min Chen as Executive of the Year 2020 for her career as an entrepreneur and mentor of young people, girls and women in STEM careers.
During the recognition ceremony, Min said, “I am honored and grateful for this distinction, not only because it brings me closer to Panama, but also because of the long history of those who have received it in previous years. In addition, it has a lot of meaning for me because since I was little, my parents taught me the value of democracy and the freedom to undertake, which are the values that APEDE promotes as part of its mission. “
Min is CEO and founding partner of Wisy, a high-tech startup created in Ciudad del Saber, Panama based in Silicon Valley, to supports companies that manufacture or sell products for mass consumption and help them transform their business towards the new economy through of mobile technology, geospatial data and artificial intelligence.
She has 18 years of experience in digital transformation supporting corporations in multiple countries. Min graduated with honors from the Faculty of Informatics at the University of Panama; won a Fulbright Scholarship for the Master of Software Engineering at Carnegie Mellon and a graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. She has been recognized as a Nasdaq Milestone Maker, 20 Latin American Innovation Leaders, among other recognitions.
Chen was recently chosen from 15 female entrepreneurs to participate in the Nasdaq Milestone Maker 2020 program, a unique program in the world that seeks to highlight select entrepreneurs who have contributed to solving global problems through their trajectory. The program ends with the projection of the entrepreneurs at the Nasdaq Tower and in June, the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square woke up illuminated with Min´s image.
As Min comments, “Being a Nasdaq entrepreneur positioned Wisy in the global leagues and, on a personal level, deepened my understanding of the role that I should play as a woman in the field of technology. Women are an important part of humanity, we are 50% and the world needs us now, it is time that we no longer ask for permission, it is time for us to say here we are and we are going to make the country and the world resurface. “
Min was born in China in 1979 and at the age of 4 he came to Panama with her parents who came in search of better opportunities. From them she learned the resilience, perseverance, resourcefulness and optimism that are key characteristics for any entrepreneur.
She grew up in Puerto Pilón in Colón, Panama where she studied at the La Salle school and at 18 she obtained the Panamanian nationality because she wanted “to have the nationality that reflects what I feel. Panama adopted me and gave me opportunities as if I had been born there. I grew up in a warm, happy, colorful and diverse culture with a global vision. Being Panamanian also gave me a platform to go out into the world. I am proud to represent Panama especially in these times when diversity and equity are being so questioned. “
Regarding her residency in Silicon Valley, Min comments that moving from Panama was harder than she imagined and that “last year was a year of adjustments to a new life in the personal, family, social and professional fields, but still no obstacles have managed to stop our mission to develop technology to solve the world’s greatest challenges. “
Min Chen has been recognized in international media as Business Insider and leads one of the 30 most promising startups in Latin America according to Forbes magazine.