David L. Fu
Caldwell Fellow, Class of 1989
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Charlotte, NC
Partner: Management Consulting, Accenture
David Fu is a business success, but he would be the first to tell you that the themes of servant leadership, being self-aware and self-actualization, as well as the mentoring of Gerald Hawkins, director emeritus, helped him along in his personal and professional journey. Fu attributes much of his decision to buck a 3,000 year family tree to be 'true' to himself to The Caldwell Fellows program. This decision resulted in his interest in leadership and helping to create or improve organizations and businesses. Says Fu, "I've come a long way from thinking I'd be a doctor or an engineer to discover my hidden professional passion. I wouldn't be where I am today without the program."
In at least one respect, that may be empirically true. Fu's work at Accenture shares a unique commonality with his Caldwell Fellows experience: study abroad. "I attended the summer experience at Oxford in 1986 and then returned in 2000 on a sabbatical sponsored by Accenture to graduate from the Oxford University Business Economics Program," says Fu. He certainly isn't the only Caldwell Fellow to study at Oxford as an undergraduate during the summer and then return for graduate school. However, he is probably the only one with a 14 year gap between taking classes there.
As for his passion, in the past 20 years, Fu has worked with more than 35 clients across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Western Europe on business transformation or complex global engagements. He is passionate about teaching, mentoring and continuous learning as well. Internally, he leads a global offering and serves as a local community lead for Accenture.
Fu also learned to embrace his cultural background and blend it with the American culture in which he largely grew up, semi-seriously referring to himself as "The Accidental Asian." Says Fu, "I spent the first half of my life hiding from my heritage and the second half of my life harmonizing with my Taiwanese and American persona. This eventually help me personally where I found my wife in Hawaii and have built a family that embraced both sides. At Accenture, I was the first partner lead of the National Asian-American Network building it to more than 2,500 constituents across 18 offices. I helped fund and architect a leadership program focused on Asian-Americans which I modeled after parts of The Caldwell Fellows program. My servant leadership passion was to create a program to help others network with similar peers and accelerate their success in the firm. The inaugural session was held in Chicago this year.
Personal Trivia
Favorite recent books: Not surprisingly, The Accidental Asian, by Eric Liu. Tied with Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing
True Story: "I worked at NASA in 1987 on the Space Shuttle Program in the Main Engines group as a part of my Caldwell Fellows summer internship."
A favorite quote: "Don’t forget to send the elevator back down for the next generation."