General Motors’ Ray G. Young, the newly appointed Group Vice President of GM Global Finance, received the Museum of Chinese in the Americas’ (MoCA) prestigious Legacy Award this evening for his professional accomplishments and contributions to the Asian American communities.

“I am incredibly grateful and appreciative toward MoCA for this award,” said Young. “It is a great honor to be recognized by an organization that has done so much for the Chinese American community.”

Young joined General Motors after graduating from the University of Chicago’s MBA program with a specialization in international business in 1986. Prior to his current appointment, Young has held many executive positions within General Motors around the globe. He was President and Managing Director of GM Brazil for the past four years, and Vice President and CFO of GM North America before he headed to Brazil.

Young has been a champion for diversity and a groundbreaker for Asian Americans working in the automotive industry and other professional fields. Through General Motors, Young has demonstrated great commitment to the Asian American community. He was an advisor and a mentor to the GM Chinese Affinity Group, as well as the executive champion for the GM Asian Indian Affinity Group.

Outside of GM, Young served as the Executive Vice President of the Association of Chinese Americans and received the Organization of Chinese Americans’ Corporate Achievement Award in 2002. The Goldsea Asian American Daily also recognized him as one of the 70 most influential Asian Americans.

MoCA is the leading museum dedicated to reclaiming, preserving and presenting the history and culture of Chinese people in the United States. Founded in 1980 as the New York Chinatown History Project by John Kuo Wei Tchen and Charles Lai, MoCA honors a distinguished group of pioneers in the Chinese American community each year at its Legacy Dinner. Past recipients include Jackie Chan, Amy Tan, David Ho, among others. This year’s dinner took place at the Tribeca Rooftop in New York City.