INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Chinese woman living in Indianapolis has made history as being the first woman named president and chief executive officer of a global tech development business.

Born in China, Ting Gootee majored in English before moving to the United States. After having a baby, she and her family moved to Bloomington.

“(My husband) quit his job, we sold our house, we packed everything into a truck, and we moved into a 900 square feet dorm in the wonderful city of Bloomington,” Gootee said.

At some point during Gootee’s career, she became a key founding executive and chief investment officer for Elevate Ventures, a company that helps build a sustainable entrepreneurship culture in Indiana.

During her 11 years with Elevate, Gootee led investment decisions in more than 500 Indiana startups, making Elevate the most active investor in the Great Lakes region since 2017.

Now, she is the new president and CEO of TechPoint.

“It just so happens that my venture and investment background became a relevant skillset and they were looking to bolster from a leadership perspective,” Gootee explained. “I had been super fortunate the last two years in a TechPoint role (to be) part of the leadership, and even hired and have strong expertise in talent management. So, me coming in really completed the puzzle, per se.”

Gootee says she wants to make Indiana one of the leaders in venture capitalism, and to achieve top roles in corporate America, you have to say yes to opportunities and spend energy earning your success.

“Early on, it was fundamentals – get the message out, how to express yourself, read the room. Once over that, the last 15 years I’ve been pretty head down. When the opportunity presents itself, the work needs to be done, so just do the work,” Gootee said.