SOM Managing Partner Xuan Fu, FAIA, has been named as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ Women of Note, among some of the city’s most influential women.

The annual Women of Note program recognizes women leaders in Chicago’s business and nonprofit worlds who are mapping out bold moves, taking big risks, and making decisions of real consequence for their organizations and the region at large.

Throughout her 30+ years at SOM, Fu has made her way from project manager to partner and leads the firm’s China practice, guiding master plans in Guangzhou and Nansha, among other projects. As she told to Crain’s, elevating women to leadership roles in the historically male-dominated field has been a priority, and she was elected to the firm’s now all-female executive committee in 2019.

Her focus now: the next generation. “I aspire to pass on the wisdom and guidance bestowed to me by my mentors and to continue mentoring and supporting the next generation of architects,” she said.