In honor of the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, we sat down with Cheyenne Li, Risk, Controls and Security Global Process Owner (GPO) at Sims Limited to learn more about her role and what it means to be Asian-American. 

Xiaoyang “Cheyenne” Li, Risk, Controls and Security Global Process Owner, has been with Sims Limited for more than two years. She brings more than 15 years of leadership experience with multinational public companies in the manufacturing and financial service industries.  

What attracted you to Sims? 

I was attracted to Sims because this company is a part of the circular economy, and I believe in the cause of creating a world with zero waste.  

How did your previous role prepare you for your current role with Sims? 

Before coming to Sims I had more than 15 years of experience in internal audit, in different industries, financial services as well as manufacturing, and I had progressive leadership experience in internal audit.  

What has been your favorite discovery about Sims since you’ve been here? 

My favorite discovery is actually when that ideal hits reality when I got to visit a couple of the Sims yards and that is when I actually got to see how we, as a company, are able to create that economy and how we are contributing to that world without waste. You know a lot of people’s hard work goes into that tremendous effort. I would actually recommend anyone, it doesn’t matter if you have an office job, or if you are in sales, purchasing, everyone should get an opportunity to go visit one of the yards. 

How long is your commute to the office?  

So right now, obviously the commute is very short, just basically I come down from upstairs. But before the pandemic I used to take the train into downtown Chicago and my commute would typically be between 40-50 minutes one way. I am actually missing it a little bit right now, hopefully we will be able to resume that commute in a couple of months. 

Where are you from originally? 

Originally, I am from the North Eastern region of China. I have been living in the U.S. for over 20 years now. 

What are your weekends like, what do you do when you’re not working? 

Before the pandemic, the weekends typically revolved around my son. We would visit whatever venue is open depending on the reopening schedule. So, it could be the Shedd Aquarium this weekend, the Field Museum next, or the zoo. So at least one day over the weekend we will do that and then there will be chores, etc.  

What three things would you like us to know about you? 

Three things to know about me. One is I like to travel a lot. Although at my job with internal audit we traveled for work quite often before the pandemic. I also like to do trips into destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia. I’ve traveled to many parts of the world and that’s how I feel I get connected to other cultures and how I pick up some local customs. Traveling is a big part of how I feel like I’m part of the world.  

The second thing is that I am an animal lover. Right now, I only have a cat as a pet, but we had a dog before and in general if the travel destination has a wildlife experience it is something that I would really go for. 

The third thing about me is, I like to get plugged into world events and anything you know current affairs, the news, I like to be very informed on what’s going on in the world.  

What does being Asian–American mean to you? 

I haven’t really thought about this question because for me I don’t usually see myself from that lens. I see myself as an employee, a leader, a mom, a wife, but not necessarily from as an Asian-American daily basis. But I know that coming to the U.S. over 20 years ago that was like a dream come true for me, and this country represented a lot of the things and values that I looked up to since I was very little. 

At Sims Limited we value diversity of backgrounds and experience, and firmly believe a diverse workforce makes for a better company. This month, as we celebrate and recognize the influence the Asian-American and Pacific-Islander heritage has had on the United States, we want to also acknowledge our very own Asian-American and Pacific-Islander workforce who collectively contribute to the success of the company. 

View our annual report for more information on Sims Limited’s diversity and inclusion.