Jane Park is believed to be the first Korean American woman to take her company public, GeekWire reports.
Seattle businesswoman Jane Park is the CEO of Athena Consumer, a corporation that Renaissance Capital describes as “a blank check company targeting technology-enabled consumer products and services.”
On October 20, Athena Consumer went public as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), GeekWire reports. It raised $230 million, which it will use to acquire a consumer company.
On Monday morning, November 1, Park and her colleagues rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the company going public, according to Seattle Report.
Park immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1975, GeekWire reports. She told GeekWire that her experience as an immigrant allowed her to broaden her perspectives.
“I think one of the most important constructs that you have on your mind as an immigrant is that you can travel across different worlds,” Park said. “And when there can be more than one world, you can make your own rules.”
Park graduated from Yale Law School, going on to work as a Starbucks executive. She has founded and led companies like Julep Beauty and Tokki. Now she is sitting on the acquisition side of the business.
Park’s parents were present at the bell-ringing ceremony, looking on with pride.
“For somebody like that, to see his daughter achieve something like this in two generations, it is something, really, really meaningful for him,” Park told GeekWire. “And it took a lot of sacrifice and hard work on their part.”
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