Josie Natori Named Chairman of Asian Cultural Council’s Board of Trustees
PULLING UP A CHAIR: Never one with a shortage of things to do, Josie Natori is taking on another hefty responsibility. The Asian Cultural Council’s board of trustees has elected the fashion designer as its new chairman.
Far from a newcomer to the organization, Natori, who was born in the Philippines, has served on ACC’s board since 1995. Five years later she helped establish its Philippines Foundation and ACC’s affiliate office in Manila. That location is one of the organization’s five international offices.
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Having started her namesake company 46 years ago, Natori, chief executive officer and chief creative officer, is as tireless as ever. She routinely flies back and forth between her homeland and her home base in New York. After each 10-hour flight to and from Manila, she is known to go directly to the office for a full day’s work. That was the case Thursday, when the designer was reached in Manila and she had mentioned that she was en route to her office there.
In fact, the designer said her love for the arts started as a child growing up in Manila studying piano, which became a lifelong passion. “While I adore my work, success in fashion is not enough. I want to be able to give something back, to make a difference in people’s lives. Serving as a trustee, and now taking on the role of chairman in ACC’s New York headquarters, is emblematic of that desire,” she said, adding that she is looking forward to working with the board and staff “to continue providing artists, scholars and arts professionals with singular opportunities to further expand their practices and pursuits through dynamic cultural exchange.”
In her new role at the helm of the ACC’s board of trustees, she succeeds Wendy O’Neill, a 14-year board of trustees veteran, who had acted as chairman since 2012. In May of this year, O’Neill was tapped as a life trustee.
Announcing Natori’s appointment, the ACC’s executive director Judy Kim said, “Josie Cruz Natori has been a stalwart champion of ACC’s mission, generously sharing both her deep-seated passion for the arts and her business acumen for over two decades.”
Natori started her career on Wall Street, where she became the first female vice president of investment banking at Merrill Lynch.
Since launching the Natori Company, her namesake fashion and international lifestyle brand, in 1977, Natori has been bringing art to life with an East-meets-West sensibility. Previously, she had a career on Wall Street, becoming the first female vice president of investment banking at Merrill Lynch. In addition to being a long-standing member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, she is a board member for both the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Statue of Liberty — Ellis Island Foundation.
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