Asian American Chamber of Commerce honors two Olin alumni

Two Olin alumni were honored November 16 at the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of St. Louis 2022 Connections Dinner, at River City Casino & Hotel.

Rahul Deshpande, EMBA 2006, received the Executive of the Year Award. Ivan Wei, EMBA 2021, received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Deshpande is the chief technology officer for Ethoca, a Mastercard company focused on building industry solutions that help businesses prevent chargebacks, fight fraud and build better digital customer experiences.

Wei is the owner of the Chinese restaurant Corner 17 and W Karoke Lounge, both on Delmar Boulevard in University City.

“I’m a proud Chinese businessman,” he’s quoted in the awards event’s program. “I love my culture and Chinese food, and I appreciate how much we value our families.”

Said Deshpande: “I am fortunate to have access to WashU and encouragement from faculty such as Professor Mahendra Gupta. Mastercard’s corporate tenet is ‘Doing well by Doing Good.’ This really has been a driver of the work I was able to do in the community as well as creating teams of passionate people in Mastercard who are building products for a more inclusive and sustainable digital economy.”