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James Sun

James Sun

Public speaker, published expert, thought leader on diversity & inclusion and it’s impact on consumer and workplace demographic trends, and a CEO who combines practical business experience with subject matter expertise.

ABOUT

James Sun is a renowned champion of diversity and inclusion, with a remarkable journey that spans entrepreneurship, reality TV stardom, and advocacy. He made history as the first Asian male to secure a spot on NBC’s “The Apprentice” during its sixth season, ultimately becoming the show’s first Asian finalist. His commitment to breaking barriers and promoting diversity has been a consistent theme throughout his career.

With a diverse portfolio of achievements, James has advised over 100 companies, including Procter & Gamble, Deloitte & Touche, JP Morgan, and Ernst & Young, on consumer segmentation and diversity. His expertise in this field is featured in the book “Millennial Leaders Y,” where he is recognized as an expert. James passionately promotes diversity through his website, Dramabeans, which reaches over 125 million English-speaking users with a focus on Korean content. As the former owner of award-winning publications, Koream Magazine and Audrey Magazine, he has celebrated and shared the Asian American experience in culture, lifestyle, and more. James is also the co-founder of Devblock, a global development agency that fosters multi-cultural collaboration for top software projects with global clients like Disney and eBay. His dedication to empowering organizations to embrace diversity and tap into diverse customer bases continues to drive positive change in the global marketplace.

James Sun inspires audiences with his unique journey and insights, urging individuals and organizations to harness the power of diversity and inclusion for greater success and innovation. James is a pioneer in the field of diversity, a respected entrepreneur, and a powerful advocate for creating inclusive environments in today’s interconnected world. His contributions to diversity and media have earned him prestigious recognition, including selection as a top 100 alumni from the University of Washington in the “Wonderous 100 Alumni Award,” a distinction shared with luminaries such as Bill Gates Sr., Governor Christine Gregoire, and musician Kenny G.

VIDEOS

SPEAKING TOPICS

01

DIVERSITY 3.0

We are now entering a new era of diversity. Diversity 1.0 started out as initiatives around fairness in hiring practices and building defensive policies against discrimination. Next, diversity 2.0 consisted of shaping and understanding the business case for diversity such as McKinsey’s findings that diverse teams outperform industry norms by 35%.

Diversity 3.0 is the next wave of leveraging the differences in your employees to drive and execute clear offensive strategies. This new trend transforms the original philosophy that everyone is the same; and instead puts the focus on the difference as the underlying strength.

In this next evolution of diversity as an offensive strategy, executives will recruit and build teams specifically for their understanding of certain cultures and environments and leverage them as key innovators and market leaders for further growth and consumer segmentation. It will not be about trying to create the largest common denominator but rather having pods of employees who specifically identify with a certain consumer segment and leveraging their experiences and background to create new micro-plans for further customer engagement. For example, CEO’s will encourage the Asian American group to gather within the organization instead of trying to assimilate each person to the larger group.

This new evolution requires managers, directors, and executives to not be afraid of showcasing the differences in people. This requires a whole new way of thinking and setting up horizontal organizational structures and processes to build and obtain documented case stories and data points as integral strategic pillars of knowledge.

Follow James Sun through his personal journey as a global diversity speaker and thought leader. James has built over $200 million dollars of exits in the past 10 years in 3 different continents. He was the first Asian to become a finalist on Donald Trump’s hit reality show “The Apprentice” and then starred in his own international business show called “War on Business” with BBC. James graduated Cum Laude from the University of Washington Business School with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems.   James was recently selected as a top 100 alumni from the University of Washington in the “Wonderous 100 Alumni Award” which included prominent individuals like Bill Gates Sr. and musician Kenny G.

02

BATTLEFIELD OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

James is ready to share his top 10 Sun Tzu lessons from the Art of War that he’s applied directly to his success. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, someone working up the corporate ladder, or anyone who wants to simply WIN in their daily life…this is the perfect speech for you….where James teaches people practical lessons on how to win every day!

Lesson #1 is personal accountability & leadership:  Sun Tzu said: “If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame.” It all falls on leadership, and James will explain how to build your leadership style to gain the highest performance.

For the next 9 lessons, book James Sun for your event and learn how to apply these time-tested strategies into your modern business today!

03

DESPITE WHAT YOU HEARD, COLOR DOES MATTER!

Follow James Sun through his personal journey and passion as a unique diversity advocate and speaker.  James takes a new and refreshing approach to diversity where he talks about the value of people’s differences in culture, race, and beliefs versus ascribing to the belief that we are all the same.  His philosophy is a culmination of his personal experiences combined with his study of human behavior by analyzing millions of data points around online ethnic social dynamics.  Even hear his direct testimony of how he handled a discriminatory response by a casting director on Donald Trump’s show, The Apprentice, who said “Asian men don’t make for good television.” 

James Sun’s family immigrated to the United States in 1981 with $35 to their name.  They arrived in Los Angeles airport with no money and no contacts, and didn’t even speak the English language.  They had to survive through sheer determination, hard work, and hope.  In 1982, the family moved to Houston, Texas.  As the only Asian-American family in the neighborhood, James’s family faced much racism.  James can recall moments when their car tires were slashed and racist remarks were painted on their home.  Growing up in humble circumstances and facing extreme racism incited a fiery drive and passion in James at a young age.

James is the first Asian male to land a spot on Donald Trump’s hit reality show “The Apprentice.”  Asian-American men have a very difficult time landing a major role on prime time television in the United States, but James broke this barrier.  James made it all the way through 14 weeks as a finalist in the competition.  James was the first Asian finalist in the history of the show.   After his stint on “The Apprentice”, James managed to land his own international television show where he played the role of Donald Trump.  This show was a co-collaboration between BBC (British Broadcasting Corp), Mediacorp, and CMMN, which aired worldwide in over 20 countries.

James is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Anomo (mobile social network) where he has analyzed tens of millions of online social interactions between different races, age groups, sexual orientation, and genders.  He is the owner of Koream magazine, which is an award-winning monthly magazine dedicated to news, commentary, politics, lifestyle and culture published in the United States. It is the oldest and most widely circulated Englishlanguage monthly magazine for the Asian American community.  He is also the owner of Audrey Magazine, which is an award-winning national publication covering the Asian experience, as seen from the perspective of Asian American women. Audrey covers Asians and Asian Americans in popular culture, fashion and beauty trends, lifestyle and travel, as well as social and cultural issues relevant to Asians and Asian Americans.

James graduated Cum Laude from the University of Washington Business School with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems.   James was recently selected as a top 100 alumni from the University of Washington in the “Wonderous 100 Alumni Award” which included prominent individuals like Bill Gates Sr. and musician Kenny G.

Speaking Topics Titles List

  • Sun Tzu on Your Business
  • 8 Sun Tzu Ideas for Great Leadership
  • How I Turned Around 13 Companies in 9 Months
  • The Art of International Deals
  • Why Business is Like War
  • Diversity Pays
  • Success through Diversity & Adversity
  • Why I Choose to Give Back
  • Community Activism
  • Marketing to “Gen Y”
  • Millenials in the Workplace
  • Lessons from an Entrepreneur

Education

  • US Army
  • University of Washington
  • Ohio State University
  • Northwestern University
  • Pepperdine University

Blogs