Bio: Ms. Tina Koo

Born in the United States to Taiwanese parents, Tina was raised in the US and received her BS in biology and management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her MBA from Harvard University. She spent nearly a decade in investment banking with both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in New York City and Hong Kong. She moved to Taiwan in 2001 to join KGI Securities Investment Trust as chairman, a position she held until 2006; she is currently a consultant to the firm.

Tina and her husband have three boys. Before joining the Board eleven years ago, she was active in PTA activities and as a room mom. She had experience in a different level of academics when she taught “Topics in Asian American History” to undergraduates at MIT. She has also been in the middle school classroom as a volunteer science teacher, counselor, and ESL teacher in New York City.

Her interest in education led to her agreeing to serve as the regional coordinator and an alumni interviewer for MIT’s undergraduate program in Taiwan. She has also interviewed perspective MIT applicants in Hong Kong, Boston, and New York.
Tina is currently serving her fifth term as the board Chairperson, a position which she has held since SY 2013-2014. Prior to serving as board Chairperson, Tina chaired the Management and Resources Committee for five years. Tina's has served during a pivotal moment of expansion and change for the School, with her dedication and leadership helping to pave the way for TAS's new state-of-the-art STEAM building, the Solomon Wong Tech Cube. Furthermore, during her tenure, Tina has overseen the implementation of the revision of board governance practices, focusing on improving board efficacy. The board moved from an all-parent board to a hybrid board, consisting of elected and appointed members. She also has led and participated in retreats and completed evaluations with leading governance expert, Mr. John Littleford.

Tina's academic background and corporate expertise have been invaluable to the school during her entire tenure on the Board. Her own work experience required strong negotiation skills and sound fiscal management practices. Whether it has been helping to develop a funding plan for the facilities project or determining the best ways to price tuition and fees, Tina has worked tirelessly to leverage the school’s resources in order to provide the best possible education to the children of our dynamic and diverse community at the best possible price. Her leadership has meant an insistence on a balance of fiscal responsibility and the pursuit of educational excellence. At one recent Board and Administration team-building and goal-setting workshop, Tina expressed her wish that the community—parents, faculty, friends of the school—would embrace the changes before us more readily and with less resistance.

Tina has been a tireless advocate for finding the best people and funding the best programs while at the same time insisting on sound fiscal discipline and a high degree of accountability. We have been fortunate to have a person with her cultural, academic, and corporate background in this critical position during this period of great change at our school.