Margaret Kuo's

Delaware Valley businesswoman and entrepreneur, Margaret Kuo, a James Beard Foundation Featured Chef, heads the The Kuo Group, a real estate holding company with three successful restaurants in Delaware County and the Main Line; Mandarin, Media and Wayne. Also active in community affairs, business and service groups, Mrs. Kuos many honors include the March of Dimes Business Service Award, the Philadelphia Journal Award for Outstanding Women in Business, and being named to the list of Pennsylvanias 50 Best Women in Business for 1999. She was awarded a Texaco company scholarship to attend NAWBO conference in Washington DC in 1998 and was elected a Pennsylvania Representative to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995. Her many awards for business leadership and community service include being named a Pennsylvania Shining Star in 1993 and the Panache Award by The Delaware Valley Restaurant Association in 1997. As recognized by critics and foodies alike, she made tremendous contributions to Philadelphias restaurant renaissance in the 1970s by introducing an entire genre of Chinese regional cuisines to the area. An advocate of public service and higher education, Mrs. Kuo fulfilled a long time goal by completing a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1996, taking a short leave of absence from her successful business interests. Born in the Manchurian Province of mainland China, Mrs. Kuo was the fourth of five children born into a family of educators and scholars. Her grandfather was principal of an elementary school. During World War II, her father, a successful businessman, received a commendation from the U.S. Army for assistance he rendered. He also served as a Senator, elected to represent his home province in Manchuria. In a period of unrest as the Communists gained power Mrs. Kuos family emigrated to Taiwan where she grew up and was educated. Her chief passion as a young girl was ballet