Good Bad Billionaire — Peggy Cherng: Engineering a Fast-Food Fortune

Podcast: Good Bad Billionaire

Hosts: Simon Jack (BBC Business Editor) & Zing Tsjeng (Journalist & Author)

Episode: Peggy Cherng: Engineering a fast-food fortune

Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the remarkable story of Peggy Cherng, co-founder of Panda Express and one of America’s richest self-made women. The hosts trace Cherng's journey from her early life in Myanmar and China, through a pioneering academic and engineering career, to building a fast-food empire that transformed Chinese-American cuisine. Simon and Zing analyze the innovations Peggy brought to the industry, discuss family dynamics and business culture, probe controversies, and assess her legacy using their signature playful billionaire scorecard.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Peggy Cherng’s Origins and Engineering Mindset

• Background: Born Peggy Siang in Myanmar (1948), childhood in Hong Kong and rural China, before moving back to Hong Kong at age 11 [03:32–04:26].
• Education: Studied maths at Baker University (Kansas), then PhD in electrical engineering at Oregon State [04:26–05:21].
• Engineering Career: Developed simulation software for aerospace firms, including battlefield simulators for McDonnell Douglas [07:57–08:31].
  • Notable Quote:
    "We built a system to simulate a battlefield for the Air Force. I enjoyed it but sometimes I had to stay until 4am to get the design done." — Peggy Cherng (as cited by Simon Jack, 07:57)

2. Founding Panda Express: Applying Engineering to Fast Food

• Family Business Foundation: Marriage to Andrew Cherng, whose chef father inspired their first restaurant, Panda Inn, Pasadena, in 1973 [05:43–06:00].
• Rise of Panda Diplomacy: The naming inspiration following Nixon’s 1972 visit to China and the gifting of pandas [06:00–06:42].
• Business Innovations:
  • POS Technology: Peggy used her tech background to develop customized point-of-sale (POS) software to track sales and boost efficiency [09:55–10:52].
    • Notable Quote:
      "It was confusing at the beginning...but it made everything more efficient." — Peggy Cherng, LA Times (shared by Simon Jack, 10:32–10:52)
  • Menu Standardization and Open Kitchens: Streamlined dish selection, created standardized recipes, introduced open kitchen designs and fresh produce displays [11:06–11:50].
    • Notable Quote:
      "As an engineer, we're trained to get everything done in the best way we can." — Peggy Cherng (Simon Jack, 11:32)
  • Team Culture: Built company morale by moving teams into shared apartments during new store openings [12:45–13:09]

3. Scaling the Panda Empire

• Growth Strategy: Avoided outside investors; reinvested profits; took established teams to support new locations [12:45–13:31].
• Mall to Stand-Alone Stores: Expanded from food courts into street locations, adapting to changing retail trends [20:33–21:07].
• Drive-Thrus & Supply Chain: 1997—introduced drive-thrus; centralized supply chain for consistency. By now, revenue approached $179M [21:15–21:49].

4. Signature Dishes & Cultural Impact

• Orange Chicken: Chef Andy Kao’s 1987 Hawaii-inspired creation became iconic, now accounting for ~1/3 of Panda Express sales [14:37–15:03].
  • Notable Exchange:
    • Zing Tsjeng: "It's not just popular, it's kind of a staple. Like chicken tikka masala in the UK." [14:37]
  • Spread of Americanized Chinese cuisine nationwide

5. Expansion Philosophy: No Franchising

• Defensive Moves: Launched Hibachi-San, a Japanese brand, to pre-empt competition in malls [16:14–17:12].
• Refusal to Franchise: Chose vertical integration, forsaking quick expansion in favor of control (only a few locations, e.g., airports, are franchised) [18:42–20:01].
  • Notable Quote:
    "'We can run them better.'" — Andrew Cherng on refusing franchising (Simon Jack, 19:21)

6. Legal Controversies and Workforce Challenges

• Workplace Lawsuits:
  • 2011: Discrimination claim (favoring Asian over Hispanic workers, settled with strengthened policies) [25:09–25:44]
  • 2013: Sexual harassment claim, $150K payout, policy improvements [25:44–26:07]
  • 2021: Lawsuit over “trust-building” training exercise; Panda Express denied wrongdoing [26:07–26:24]
  • Multiple class-action wage/discrimination claims; common in fast-food, especially franchised models [26:24–27:21]
• Peggy’s Role: No cases target her personally; underscores complexities in scaling labor-intensive brands [27:01–27:21]

7. The Enigmatic Co-CEO: Peggy’s Personal Life

• Low Public Profile: Andrew handled PR; Peggy prefers business focus, rare interviews [27:21–28:00].
• Insights from Panda Express Podcast:
  • Values sleep, work-life balance, enjoys swimming and reading, describes herself as “book smart” and introverted, favorite food is seafood (allergic!) [28:00–28:43]

8. Billionaire Life, Legacy, and Philanthropy

• Family Involvement: Three daughters have held business/charity roles; company remains family-owned [32:09–32:26].
• Expansion: As of 2025—2,500+ locations, $6B annual revenue, limited overseas presence [32:43–32:56].
• Wealth Accumulation: Multiple luxury homes; $7.4B net worth [35:05–35:33].
• Philanthropy:
  • Panda Cares charity (funded mainly via customer donations)
  • Significant gifts ($100M to cancer research, $17M to a hospital), but total giving is less than 1% of net worth [36:41–37:23]
  • Notable Quote:
    "Although she gives away hundreds of millions...that's less than 1%. Not an enormously impressive effort." — Zing Tsjeng (37:02–37:23)

9. Power, Legacy, and Cultural Influence

• Culinary Impact: Panda Express normalized Chinese food as American fast food, on par with McDonald's or KFC for many [37:37–38:10].
• Engineering to Food: Example of cross-disciplinary innovation powering business dominance [39:03–39:41]
  • Notable Reflection:
    "It's a very interesting thing, using her skills in engineering...to introduce a new cultural outpost for Chinese culture in the United States." – Zing Tsjeng (38:39–39:03)
• Broader Investments: Hotel ownership (Mandarin Oriental, later Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas) and a bid on the Portland Trailblazers basketball team [33:36–33:57]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Standardization:
  "You have to have the replication of the dish so that when you go into one outlet, you get exactly the same thing...super important to customers." — Zing Tsjeng (12:07)

• On Scaling Culture:
  "[We'd] take an established team to the new location ... everyone would live in one apartment for a month ... it built team spirit." — Peggy Cherng (quoted by Simon Jack, 12:45–13:09)

• On Philanthropy:
  "Panda Cares ... has raised nearly half a billion dollars. Mind you, that's customer money, not our own." — Zing Tsjeng (36:29)

• On American Fast Food Epics:
  "At the time, to be the person who introduces Chinese food to America and just popularizes it across the whole country. I think it's up there with McDonald's, KFC." — Simon Jack (37:59)

Chronological Timestamps for Key Segments

• Early Life and Education: [03:32–05:21]
• Peggy’s Engineering Background: [07:57–08:31]
• Panda Inn & Panda Diplomacy History: [06:00–06:42]
• Panda Express Mall Debut & Innovations: [09:18–11:50]
• Menu Standardization & Team Culture: [11:39–13:09]
• Signature Orange Chicken Origin: [14:37–15:03]
• Refusal to Franchise: [18:42–20:01]
• Legal Issues: [25:09–27:01]
• Peggy’s Personal Insights: [28:00–28:43]
• Philanthropy Recap: [36:41–37:23]
• Hosts’ Scorecard Segment: [34:32–39:41]

Scorecard Highlights

Hosts rate Peggy Cherng in several categories (out of 10):

• Wealth:
  "They reside in a 25,000 square foot mansion ... $14 million penthouse in Honolulu. ... I'm going to give them a four." — Zing Tsjeng
• Controversy:
  "She doesn't score super highly ... two." — Both Hosts
• Philanthropy:
  "Less than 1% of her wealth. ... Two." — Both Hosts
• Power & Legacy:
  "If I was American, maybe a 7 or 8 ... but globally, maybe a 6." — Simon Jack; Zing gives a 5.

Overall Reflections & Tone

With lighthearted banter, the hosts explore not just how the Cherngs built their fortune, but the dilemmas of control versus growth, the realities and pitfalls of scaling a food business in America, and the uniquely American synthesis of technology and cuisine. They give credit to Peggy’s innovative mindset, but point out the limitations of her philanthropy and the challenges of fame as a behind-the-scenes founder.

For Listeners

Final Verdict
Peggy Cherng is portrayed as a disciplined, data-driven, and private executive whose real innovation was to bring Silicon Valley logic into everyday fast food. Her story is one of cultural bridge-building, family teamwork, and quiet ambition — not without its criticisms and shortcomings, especially in philanthropy, but overall a clear case of high-impact entrepreneurship.

Next Episode: Elizabeth Holmes — from prodigy to billionaire to inmate.

Contact the show:
goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com / WhatsApp +1 (917) 686-1176