Out of Office

Gigi Chao made international headlines when her father offered a one-billion-Hong Kong dollar marriage bounty to any man who would marry her. Her response? She penned a public letter in the newspaper titled: “Dear Daddy, You Must Accept That I Am a Lesbian.” The executive vice chairman of Cheuk Nang (Holdings) Ltd. shares her coming out story, her LGBTQ activism, and life lessons from flying a helicopter.

Correction: A previous version of this description misspelled the name of Gigi Chao's company.

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He likes working with cars and with people. But a headmaster’s son who used to restore bikes for friends in Liverpool, never imagined he would end up becoming one of the most influential people in the global car industry. The CEO of McLaren Automotive, Mike Flewitt speaks about navigating the company through the pandemic, starting his career on the factory floor, and why he’s an eternal optimist.

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Uber’s Chief D&I officer shares the dramatic story of her family’s escape from North to South Korea and how that’s shaped her attitude towards equality and acceptance. Plus, she opens up about leaning in, stirring the pot, balancing a career with motherhood, and being her father’s daughter.

(Rebroadcast)

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With no formal training and an all-women crew of South Asian immigrants in her kitchen, Asma Khan is redefining the culinary scene in the United Kingdom by serving up nostalgia-soaked dishes from her childhood in India. The chef behind “Darjeeling Express” talks about sexism in the industry, being a second daughter, and tells us why she left a light on when she closed her first restaurant.

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The Digital Minister of Taiwan talks about the role technology and trust played in Taiwan’s handling of the pandemic. The world’s first openly transgender Minister, Audrey Tang opens up about her personal journey, problem solving in her sleep and why she insists on using a flip phone.

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Leading lawyer, wife of a former British Prime Minister and committed campaigner for women's rights, Cherie Blair says she won’t wait for her granddaughters to become grandmothers to see equal opportunities. The first person in her family to attend university, she talks about being passed over for a job because it was earmarked for a boy (later, he became her husband), why Downing Street can be lonely, and explains why she considers Hillary Clinton a mentor.

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A young boy from Hong Kong who was denied a visa to attend high school in the US went on to have a wildly successful career as a technology executive and venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. Dubbed “the greatest CEO of our time,” Alfred Chuang talks about the American Dream, how crisis leads to innovation and what makes a great CEO.

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Julie Deane wanted to send her children to a better school. To fund their education, she launched a business from her kitchen table with 600 pounds and help from Mum. Today, The Cambridge Satchel Company is a multi-million pound business and its bags are spotted on arms of A-list celebrities. Julie spoke to Bloomberg’s Ed Stapley about her entrepreneurial journey, the difference between style and fashion, and why curly wurly chocolate bars are important to her company’s culture.

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Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has always challenged established norms. But by being different, she's often mistaken for being difficult. In this wide ranging conversation, one of the most successful women in Britain’s financial services industry talks candidly about her career and opens up about her struggle depression, dealing with racism and explains why not fitting in, whether in school or during one’s career, is a good thing.

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The killers of Berta Caceres had every reason to believe they’d get away with murder. More than 100 other environmental activists in Honduras had been killed in the previous five years, yet almost no one had been punished for the crimes. Bloomberg’s Blood River follows a four-year quest to find her killers – a twisting trail that leads into the country’s circles of power.

Blood River premieres on July 27.

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