Elaine Chao.

• Author: Harrison, Joan
• Position: Director Spotlight - Profile on the board member of Northwest Airlines Inc., Dole Food Co. and the National Association of Security Dealers Inc.

Northwest Airlines tickets a boardroom seat for this transportation expert and leader of charitable organizations.

Elaine Chao always knew that she wanted to live a life of service to others. In her early years as an immigrant to America she learned the importance of giving, and her lifework has been a testament to her devotion to community service. Her impressive resume includes a stint as director of the Peace Corps and an exhausting four years she spent leading United Way of America (UWA) out of financial and ethical disarray.

Chao is now a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., where she spends her time researching and speaking on philanthropic, ethical, and other issues concerning nonprofit organizations. She is also chairman of the foundation's Asian Studies Center Advisory Council. After the wearying task of leading UWA out of crisis and charting a course for the company's future, her latest endeavor allows her the time to "reconnect as a volunteer" and to serve as a director on several boards, including the National Association of Security Dealers Inc., Dole Food Co., and, most recently, Northwest Airlines Inc.

In 1992, during one of the bleakest times in UWA's history, a search committee at the charitable organization unanimously chose Chao from among more than 600 candidates to succeed fallen president and CEO, William Aramony, who, along with two other company executives, had been caught misusing the organization's funds. In addition to the challenge of increasing fundraising during a period of recession, downsizing, and layoffs, Chao faced the tough task of reestablishing the credibility of the tarnished organization, repairing deflated employee morale, instituting improved financial and management controls at the organization, and forming a new governance structure and code of ethics aimed at restoring the charity's integrity.

Recalling her hectic time at UWA, Chao notes that it was ironic that while she was heading the large charitable organization she didn't have the time to get involved in volunteer activities. She had always been active in charitable projects, but the efforts needed to rebuild UWA occupied all of her time. However, she says she gladly accepted the position, seeing the job "as an act of love, and commitment to the importance of volunteerism."

To attack the problems at UWA, she drew on her well-honed crisis management skills, which she had developed...