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Peggy Cherng

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Peggy Cherng
Born1947 or 1948 (age 76–77)[1]
Mawlamyine, British Burma (now Myanmar)
NationalityAmerican
EducationOregon State University (BS)
University of Missouri (MS, PhD)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, restaurateur, philanthropist
Known forCofounder, Panda Express restaurant chain
Spouse
​
(m. 1975)​
Children3[2]
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
Institutions
ThesisComputer analysis of chest radiographs using size and shape descriptors (1974)

Peggy Tsiang Cherng (pronounced /ˈtʃɜːrŋ/, born 1947/1948) is an American billionaire businesswoman who co-founded Panda Express in 1983 and is the co-chief executive officer of Panda Restaurant Group. With an estimated net worth of US$3.7 billion as of October 2024, Forbes reported that she is America's second richest self-made woman born outside the US and one of the 400 wealthiest individuals in the world.[3][4] The Cherngs invest their wealth out of their family office, the Cherng Family Trust.

Early life and education

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Peggy Tsiang was born in Mawlamyine, Myanmar, and grew up in Hong Kong.[3] She attended Hong Kong's Clementi Secondary School, and graduated in 1966.[5] She went to the United States to attend Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, where as a freshman she met her husband to be, Andrew Cherng, then a sophomore.[6] She transferred a year later to Oregon State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics in 1970.[5][7] She then attended the University of Missouri, earning a master's in computer science in 1971, and a PhD in electrical engineering in 1974.[5][8] She worked towards her PhD by developing a pattern-recognition program that digitized X-rays and applied algorithms to diagnose congenital heart disease. After earning her PhD, she and Andrew moved to Los Angeles where they married.[9]

Early career

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From 1975-1977, Cherng was an engineering specialist at McDonnell Douglas, where she coded battlefield simulators for the US Air Force.[5] From 1977-1982, she was a technical engineer and software department manager at Comtal Corporation, a subsidiary of 3M.[5]

Panda Restaurant Group

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Main article: Panda Restaurant Group

In June 1973, Andrew Cherng along with his father Ming Tsai Cherng took over a restaurant and started a new Chinese restaurant called Panda Inn in Pasadena, California, using funds from the family and a Small Business Administration loan.[10] In 1982, Peggy Cherng left Comtal and became Operations Manager at the Panda Restaurant Group.[5] In 1982, she built the restaurant company's computer systems to track customer feedback and streamline operations.[11] She used computers to track inventory and re-order ingredients.[12]

In 1983, the Cherngs opened the first Panda Express, a fast food restaurant, at the newly opened Glendale Galleria II mall in Glendale, California.[13] The mall's developer had eaten at Panda Inn, and encouraged the Cherngs to take a place at the food court.[14] Peggy Cherng took over as president in 1997.[13] She was the CEO and president of Panda Restaurant Group from 1997 until 2003, and in 2004 she became co-chair and co-CEO of Panda Restaurant Group.[15] Panda Restaurant Group bought stakes in other restaurant franchises such as Urbane Cafe, Just Salad, Uncle Tetsu, Pieology and Ippudo.[11] As of 2018, the Cherngs still did not franchise Panda Express restaurants except in a few cases, still owning and operating all their restaurants without going public.[16] In 2019, she is still co-CEO of Panda Express, which had over 2,200 locations.[11]

By March 2018, the couple had a net worth of $3.3 billion.[16] She was also #12 on America's Self-Made Women list for 2019 by Forbes.[11] In October 2019, her development company CFT NV Developments LLC purchased land in Hawaii for $10 million. She and her husband are the Hawaii master franchisees for Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers.[17] She is on the boards of the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the United Way of Los Angeles, Methodist Hospital of Arcadia and the Peter F. Drucker School of Management.[18]

Philanthropy

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In February 2011, the Cherngs donated $2.5 million to support the Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.[19][20]

In March 2017, the California Institute of Technology announced that they were changing the name of its medical engineering department to the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering after receiving a $30 million gift from Andrew and Peggy Cherng.[21] In the following month, the University of Missouri announced receiving a $1.5 million gift from the Cherngs which would benefit its Honors College.[22]

The Cherngs donated $100 million to City of Hope in 2023 to advance cancer care that integrates Eastern and Western healing methods. It was the "single largest gift for cancer care" received by the Duarte-based center.[23]

Personal life

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The Cherngs have three daughters. The oldest is chief marketing officer at Panda Express, the second daughter manages investments for the Cherng Family Trust, and the youngest works with the Panda Charitable Foundation.[5]

In 2018, it was announced that the Cherng Family Trust purchased the former Mandarin Oriental hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and rebranded it as a Waldorf Astoria. The total acquisition price for the property was $214 million.[24] As of November 2019, the Cherngs reside in Henderson, Nevada.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Forbes profile: Peggy Cherng". Forbes. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. ^ Hirsch, Jerry (2008-08-31), "Profile: Andrew Cherng, Panda Express founder", Seattle Times, retrieved 2018-04-30
  3. ^ a b "Rihanna, Celine Dion, Safra Catz: Here Are The Most Successful Immigrant Women In The U.S." forbes.com. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  4. ^ "The Forbes 400 List 2024 - The Richest People in America Ranked". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "How Did I Get Here? Peggy Cherng". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  6. ^ "A Passion for Panda". pasadenaweekly.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  7. ^ "Cherngs honored for contributions in L.A. area" (PDF). bakeru.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  8. ^ Tsiang, Peggy Pui-Kee (1974). Computer analysis of chest radiographs using size and shape descriptors (Ph.D.). University of Missouri. OCLC 12702017 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ "The Tao of Panda Express". lamag.com. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  10. ^ "A Passion for Panda". pasadenaweekly.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  11. ^ a b c d "Peggy Cherng". Forbes.
  12. ^ Abadi, Mark. "Meet the billionaire couple behind Panda Express, who run nearly 2,000 restaurants and sell 90 million pounds of orange chicken a year". Business Insider.
  13. ^ a b Krantz, Matt (2006-09-13). "Panda Express spreads Chinese food across USA". USA Today. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  14. ^ Hirsch, Jerry (2009-08-31). "Profile | Andrew Cherng, Panda Express founder". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  15. ^ "How Did I Get Here? Peggy Cherng". www.bloomberg.com. 2016.
  16. ^ a b Hannon, Kerry (March 22, 2018). "For Panda Express Owners, It's About Family". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  17. ^ Magin, Janis L. (October 10, 2019). "Panda Express founders pay $10M for Oahu land, plan new Raising Cane's restaurant". Pacific Business News.
  18. ^ "Peggy Cherng". Panda Restaurant Group.
  19. ^ "Panda Express founders pledge $2.5 million". Fast Casual. February 28, 2011.
  20. ^ Galindo, Erick (March 4, 2011). "Panda's pledge: Founders donate $2.5M to Cal Poly Pomona". San Bernardino Sun. Archived from the original on 2017-04-05.
  21. ^ Henry, Jason (March 28, 2017). "Panda Express founders donate $30 million to Caltech in hopes of inspiring other immigrants". Pasadena Star-News.
  22. ^ Jost, Ashley (April 28, 2017). "Panda Express execs give $1.5 million to Mizzou". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  23. ^ "Panda Express founders donate $100 million to City of Hope for alternative cancer care". Los Angeles Times. 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  24. ^ "Hilton's Waldorf Astoria to debut in Las Vegas". apnews.com. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Andrew & Peggy Cherng's House in Henderson, NV". 24 November 2019.
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