Drina C. Yue

2017 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award

Drina C. Yue has worked her way from an engineer and systems analyst with AT&T in Chicago to a career in telecommunications and finance with executive roles in North America and Asia. The inventor of eight telecommunications-related patents, Yue’s work has involved network design, broadband systems and mobile technologies, as well as the money-transfer and payments businesses. 

At BellSouth’s WorldWide Wireless Division, Yue oversaw the development and management of GSM networks in Denmark, Australia, Germany, and New Zealand.  Later, she served as a Director for BellSouth China, developing a 34-site microwave network for the Jilin province.

In 2000, Yue joined iSteelAsia as Director and CEO, building the online steel trading portal from the ground up, and then overseeing its rapid growth and IPO in Hong Kong’s Growth Enterprise Market. iSteelAsia’s success was the subject of a Harvard Business School case study  as a successful company using new economy tools to benefit traditional industry operations.

As vice president of Motorola’s Asia Pacific Home and Networks Mobility business, Yue was recognized with Motorola’s Business Council of the Year Award in 2008 for 5 years of double-digit growth in the company’s Home business.

Most recently, Yue was senior vice president of the Asia-Pacific region at the Western Union Company, where she was responsible for the company’s operations in 45 countries, overseeing a major expansion in the number of locations and in business partnerships. She currently advises Fintonia Group about investment opportunities in Asia.