John Hsu

Hsu has come a long way since arriving in New York as an eight-year-old-political refugee from Taiwan. But his drive was apparent even back then. He entered the New York public school system speaking only Mandarin. In six months, he was speaking and writing in English. Today, he serves as treasurer of one of the most influential media companies in the world. He’s busy focusing on investments and acquisitions at AMC Networks, as well as overseeing the company’s cash management and debt portfolio management. He firmly believes his success is due to the opportunities America has to offer and the generosity of its people, and works to provide those opportunities to others. “Through AMC Ventures, I’ve partnered with various BIPOC media startups in the hopes to bring more voices and different stories to media,” he says.

The conversation about racial injustice in 2020 has been… long overdue. As an industry, we need to admit our failures and make concrete advances to bring more voices to the table. We need real commitment and not the usual decorative actions. 

In what ways can companies best show a sincere commitment to diversity and inclusion?
Companies need to start at the beginning. Companies can hire starting classes with diversity and inclusion in mind in order to develop talent to fill future managerial positions – if we invest in people early on, we’ll develop new groups of up-and-coming candidates who will fill the positions of tomorrow.

How have you been a champion of diversity & inclusion in your professional life?
Through AMC Ventures, I’ve partnered with various BIPOC media startups in the hopes to bring more voices and different stories to media. I’ve led investments and been a board member of startups and public companies such as DramaFever, RLJE (led by Bob Johnson) and Macro Ventures (led by Charles King).

I’ve learned so much from partnering with these BIPOC-led next gen media companies and have been blessed to be part of the team focused to bring more diversity and inclusion in media. I’m proud of these teams, without which, many new voices would have been lost.

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