Young Woman Entrepreneur Bucks Tradition at HKU Talk

After a long succession of middle-aged men, there’s a new face on the line-up of the University of Hong Kong’s Edward KY Chen lecture series.

Just 31 years old and part of the new vanguard of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Clara Shih brings a fresh take to economics for an upcoming lecture.

Hong Kong-born Shih is the CEO of Hearsay Social, a technology start-up that helps large banks and Fortune 500 companies manage their social media presence and works with groups such as Farmers Insurance and Northwestern Mutual.

As a woman in her early thirties, she is a rarity in the male-dominated technology industry, and she is part of a field of business that has evolved thanks to the advent of Facebook.