A Luce Year in Asia could change your life! In 1999, Diana Wu David was awarded a Luce Scholars fellowship and put a consulting career on hold to move to Hong Kong and work for a media company. Ten months abroad has since turned into 20 years as David has remained in Asia and become a successful author, professor, and entrepreneur. In an interview with the podcast “Discover Your Talent,” she discusses the people, choices, and turning points—including the Luce fellowship—that have led her to where she is today.

Diana Wu David is the author of “Future Proof: Reinventing Work in the Age of Acceleration,” a book about how to adopt more agile mindsets and practices to prepare yourself for success in a fast-changing world, across a 100-year life. Diana is an adjunct professor of leadership at Columbia Business School’s EMBA Global Asia and for the Financial Times Non-Executive Director Diploma for independent board directors. Her company, Sarana Labs, helps companies and senior leaders build competitive, future forward organizations.

“In 1999 after working in a consulting job at Price Waterhouse Cooper for a couple of years in their tech-media and telecom practice, I decided it was time for a break and planned to go abroad. On a lark I applied for and won The Luce Foundation Scholarship. After an internship in Hong Kong where I worked with artists, journalists, doctors and many other fascinating people, I was supposed to return to the United States and work in consulting again. I felt like I had only scratched the surface, so I decided to stay and got a job at a startup media company. My cross-cultural fellowship of 10 months has now lasted 20 years.”

Listen to the Interview