ALUMNI PROFILE

Making the most impact

Working as a computer programmer in China, Tao Huang, Grad ’90, was restless and ready to make a change.

By Mike Thee

He made a big one. He emigrated to the United States and, since he wanted to learn English quickly, chose a place with few Chinese compatriots. De Pere, Wisconsin, fit that bill. “It was cold,” Huang remembers of his early impressions, “but the people were warm.”

After a year at St. Norbert College, Huang transferred into Marquette’s graduate program in computer science. “Marquette was like family for me,” he says.

After graduating, Huang weighed job offers from two Fortune 500 companies and a fledgling financial information firm named Morningstar with 20 employees. He chose Morningstar: “I thought I could make the greatest impact there.” He clearly has.

Today he is chief operating officer at Morningstar, which now has more than 800 employees.“What I like most about my job,” says Huang, “is getting my hands dirty creating new products and then seeing people use those products.”

He believes in the firm’s mission to serve the average investor and give “the little guy access to the same information that previously was only available to bigger investors.”