In a life and career spanning several countries and even more industries, Heela Yang AB ’93, MBA ’01 has learned to transform change and disruption into momentum and confidence. Today, as the CEO and co-founder of global beauty brand Sol de Janeiro and head of its namesake charitable foundation, she sees a clear throughline from early experiences of adversity to her leadership in business and philanthropy.
Some of those lessons are reflected in the recent gift that she and her husband, Seiji Tsuzuki, have made to support three areas of deep personal significance: foundational science research and undergraduate teaching, entrepreneurship, and women’s health research.
Roots of Resilience
From a young age, Yang learned to make the most of uncertain circumstances. Born in Seoul, she was 12 when her family moved to the United States after her father—a prominent political figure—refused to cooperate with South Korea’s military regime. Starting over from scratch in a new country, her parents met every setback with positivity and an unshakeable work ethic. Yang came to see adaptability not just as a survival strategy but as a strength that would shape the way she approached school, work, and ultimately, leadership and giving.
Attending Harvard, first at the College and later at Harvard Business School, was another turning point. As an undergraduate, Yang found her world suddenly larger and more interconnected. She recalls being “constantly challenged,” which was not always easy but proved deeply transformative. At HBS, Yang took a negotiation course that left a lasting mark on her professionally, especially its insights into how men and women often approach negotiation differently.
After HBS, Yang built a successful career in New York City, first as an analyst at Goldman Sachs Investment Banking and eventually in marketing, leading global brands at L’Oréal and Estée Lauder. Yet when the opportunity arose to make a seismic pivot, she was ready. She left her established career and life in the United States to move to Brazil with Tsuzuki. Shortly after arriving, she discovered she was pregnant with their son.
“I hope the gift helps expand access and possibility—whether that’s through financial support of research that can now continue, or programs that nurture entrepreneurial thinking. Success, to me, is Harvard continuing to attract the brightest and most innovative minds in the world.”
— Heela Yang AB ’93, MBA ’01
Navigating this new reality—physically, emotionally, and professionally—was daunting. Instead of isolation, however, she found something unexpected in her new home: a sense of liberation and welcome. This self-discovery laid the emotional foundation for Sol de Janeiro, the company she would go on to build into a global powerhouse in the beauty industry.
Impact with Intention
On the heels of this success, Yang launched the Sol de Janeiro Foundation in 2024, which focuses on expanding access to education, promoting entrepreneurship for women and girls in under-resourced communities, and protecting and restoring Brazil’s biodiversity. The foundation’s work has reinforced a core belief “that business and impact don’t have to live in separate worlds,” she says. “When you build with intention, you can create both growth and dignity at the same time.”
It is this intention, and gratitude for how Harvard shaped her life, that led Yang and Tsuzuki to give back to the University. “Harvard stretched my thinking and gave me confidence to take risks I might not otherwise have taken,” she says.
To honor her parents and the sacrifices they made for their children, she established the Sook J. & Young C. Yang Professorship in Science at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, advancing fundamental scientific research for future generations. To support future leaders and entrepreneurs, she created the Heela Yang Assistant Professorship of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, one of a small number of professorships at the School endowed by a female donor. And to prioritize research on women’s health, a critical area of study that she feels is often overlooked, she established the Heela Yang Presidential Fund for Research at Harvard University.
Together, the two endowed professorships lay long-term foundations in basic science and business leadership, while the presidential fund responds to an urgent need in women’s health—an approach that reflects Yang’s CEO instinct to balance the needs of today with those of tomorrow.
“I hope the gift helps expand access and possibility—whether that’s through financial support of research that can now continue, or programs that nurture entrepreneurial thinking,” she says. “Success, to me, is Harvard continuing to attract the brightest and most innovative minds in the world.”
Even the process of making this gift was itself an eye-opening experience for Yang. “It forces you to define what you stand for and what you want to be remembered for—and what you want to help build long after you’re gone,” she says.
For Yang, the gift is one more bold step in a life defined by meaningful risks—moving across continents, changing industries, starting a company, and now helping to shape the ideas and leaders of tomorrow.
“Leadership isn’t about certainty,” she has come to realize. “It’s about conviction.”