Peggy Tsiang Cherng

Peggy Cherng, along with her husband Andrew, are co-founders of the Chinese food restaurant chain Panda Express. An immigrant born in Burma, Peggy met her husband at Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. She later got a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri and worked at 3M and McDonnell Douglas, where she coded simulators for the U.S. Navy. In 1973, Andrew and his chef father Ming-Tsai founded sit-down restaurant Panda Inn in Pasadena, Calif. When Ming-Tsai died in the early 1980s, Peggy gave up her software-development career to help out with the family business. They launched the Panda Express chain in 1983 with the opening of a quick-serve location in a mall in Glendale, Calif. That same year, Peggy introduced a point-of-sale system to allow staff to punch in meal orders on a computer, to streamline operations at the restaurant's various locations. Today, Panda Express is one of the world's largest private and family-owned restaurant chains, with $2.5 billion in sales and nearly 2,000 locations. Daughter Andrea is chief marketing officer and oversees menu and concept innovation. Bachelor of Arts / Science, Oregon State University; Master of Science, University of Missouri; Ph.D, University of Missouri