'Business empress' Margaret Wong reflects on 40 years in Sacramento

IT ALL. SO THIS IS OUR, UM, OUR LAB AT A BUSINESS PARK IN NATOMAS. YOU’LL FIND A VENTURE 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING THAT REACHES ACROSS THE WORLD. I DO, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS WITH CHINA, AND I TRADE WITH CHINA. AND MARGARET WONG IS THE ONE RUNNING THE SHOW. SO WE TRY TO CONNECT THE WORLD. WE’RE TRYING TO CONNECT EAST TO WEST, CONNECTING THROUGH LIGHTING. PEOPLE UNDERESTIMATE LIGHTING. BUT EVERYWHERE YOU GO, YOU HAVE LIGHTING. SHE CO-FOUNDED MC WONG. THESE ARE VERY POWERFUL. HER SACRAMENTO COMPANY BUILDS THE COMPONENTS THAT POWER YOUR LIGHTING. THE ULTIMATE GOAL USING NEW LIGHTING TECH TO EVENTUALLY RUN MORE OF YOUR HOME LIGHTING WILL BE ABLE TO TALK TO YOUR SWITCHES, TALK TO YOUR MACHINE. TALK TO YOUR DC LIGHTING. TALK TO EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE HVAC. THIS IS WE DO ALL THE TESTING KEY TO HER EMPIRE. HER COMPANY’S MANUFACTURING FACILITIES IN CHINA AND VIETNAM, AND WAREHOUSES ACROSS THE U.S. THIS ONE IS IN, UM, TEXAS. HER EXPERIENCE AND TIES HAVE MADE HER A VALUABLE ASSET TO A NUMBER OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNORS, PAST AND PRESENT, FROM GAVIN TO JERRY, PETE AND ARNOLD. WHEN HE CAME, THEY WERE LIKE THOUSANDS OF MILES OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR THIS IS PART OF THE PRODUCTS THAT THEY MAKE. HERE’S WONG WHEN KCRA TAGGED ALONG FOR ONE OF HER MANY TRADE TRIPS TO CHINA 30 YEARS AGO, CONNECTING BUSINESS AND CULTURE, WONG WAS A KEY PLAYER IN BRINGING THE VERY FIRST NBA GAME TO CHINA WITH THE SACRAMENTO KINGS. IT STARTED WITH A PRIVATE TALK WITH THE KINGS OWNER AT THE TIME, HE SAID, WELL, WHO SHOULD WE BE PLAYING WITH? I SAID, WHO ELSE IS YOU KNOW, YAO MING JOINED HOUSTON ROCKETS AND THERE WE GO. AND THAT THE FIRST, VERY FIRST NBA GAME IN CHINA WAS SACRAMENTO KINGS AND HOUSTON ROCKETS. PEOPLE MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO COMPANY WITH THIS GLOBAL REACH. IS BASED HERE IN SACRAMENTO. BUT TO HER IT JUST MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE. I’M TRYING TO GET GOOD TALENT IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS YOU IN SOME OF THE BIG CITIES. HER SUCCESS EARNING HER MAGAZINE COVER STORIES A TOP AWARD FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, AND A NICKNAME, THE BUSINESS EMPRESS. IT MUST FEEL PRETTY NICE TO BE REFERRED TO AS AN EMPRESS. WELL, I WOULDN’T SAY THAT. YOU KNOW, I’M GOING TO BE THAT HIGH LEVEL, BUT JUST THAT I. I ENJOY BEING THE FOUNDERS OF WHAT I’M DOING. PROUD OF HER CHINESE AMERICAN HERITAGE AND HER CONNECTION TO THE TWO CULTURES IS WHAT LIGHTS HER UP. WHY SHOULD I RETIRED? I JUST LOVE DOING WHAT I’M DOING, YOU KNOW? SO WHEN YOU ARE GOING, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I SAID, I’M GOING TO CASINO EVERY DAY BECAUSE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HIT IT BIG. I FEEL KNOW I FEEL LIKE I’M, YOU KNOW, YOU LOSE SOME, YOU WIN SOME, AND YOU JUST FUN. YOU KNOW, THERE’S A LOT OF FUN. I LOVE MY JOB. WELL, SHE’S OBVIOUSLY WINNING A LOT. UH, WONG’S COMPANY IS ALSO CELEBRATING A NEW BEGINNING. AND THEY’VE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY’RE NOW CHANGING THEIR NAME TO M W CONNECT AS, AGAIN, THEY CELEBRATE 40 YEARS HERE IN SACRAMENTO. AND YOU KNOW, EDDIE, WHEN YOU INTERVIEW THESE TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CEOS AND PRESIDENTS, THEY ARE JUST HAVE A CERTAIN WAY ABOUT THEM. THEY’RE VERY HIGH ENERGY AND JUST VERY APPROACHABLE. AND IT’S JUST A REAL DELIGHT TO TALK TO YOU. YEAH, I HAVE FOUND THE SAME WITH HER AND THE COMBINATION OF SHE’S BRILLIANT AND ALSO SO LIKABLE. YOU SEE WHY PEOPLE WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH HER. YOU KNOW, IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. SO YEAH, AND IT’S VERY COOL TO SEE THE