Executive Director, BRI Green Development Institute, Beijing, China

Before joining BRI Green Development Institute, Zhang Jianyu was the vice president of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading U.S. environmental NGO. Since 1999, he has been responsible for the establishment and overall management of EDF China program.

Zhang also helped found and manage the first professional Joint Venture environmental consulting firm in 1992. He served as China program advisor for the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA), implementing the first Sino-US environmental cooperation project from 1997 to 1999.

Zhang is a Fellow of the prestigious Aspen China Fellowship program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He has served as board directors of China-based publicly traded companies and advisory board members of Fortune 500 companies. Zhang is an executive board director of China Association for International NGO Cooperation (CANGO).

Zhang is known for his leadership and contribution to the establishment of China’s Carbon Trading System. He has authored many peer-reviewed articles, columns, book chapters and is a frequent commentator on environmental issues in China with public media. Zhang serves on several advisory boards and is a special advisor for China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED). He is a visiting fellow with the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University.

Zhang got his advanced degrees from Tsinghua University (Bachelor), Stanford University (Master), and Carnegie Mellon University (Ph.D.). He recently completed his Ph.D. studies in Finance from Chinese Academy of Social Science.

Co-Founder and Principal Architect EPlus Design Group; Adjunct Associate Professor, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, China

As a co-founder of dotA, Prof. GAO Yan pushes the boundary of the architectural discipline with the insight of contemporary practice and the cutting edge computational means. His architectural design synthesizes the scientific and heuristic design approaches for contemporary architectural practice, i.e. immersing the use of computational means into a wide scope including vernacular architecture, landscape, and urban design and planning.

Gao’s architectural design responses are nurtured by the inter-disciplinary network thinking in social, economic, environmental, political, professional and technical dimensions. His pragmatism design research methodologies integrate theories, techniques, Chinese philosophy into practice, addressing architectural value and performance in the global and local context. Gao’s well recognized as a leading peer in applying scholar research of computation to architectural practice in China.

In addition to his teaching position at University of Hong Kong, Gao has been appointed as the programme directors for a number of international architectural design workshops in Asia since 2007, including the AA Beijing Visiting School and Digital Practice Summer Program HKU.

Gao’s projects and articles have been widely published in China, which won him the co-curator for The Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Architecture 2012 and Associative Public Forum in London and the curator for the Digital Making China Exhibition, 2013 DADA Digital Infiltration. To sum, Gao’s architectural design agenda celebrates innovation, intelligence and interdisciplinary.

Co-Founder, Stealth Startup and WafaGames; Chief Ambassador, Xterio, Beijing, China

A maker by passion and by profession. Kathy is MIT's TR 35 Innovators under 35 and Asia's Top 100 Talents.

Kathy was the youngest national Chess Champion of China and a chess master. She still plays chess competitively today.

As a hardcore gamer since childhood, Kathy currently serves as the Chief Ambassador at Xterio, the world's leading Web3.0 gaming company.

Prior to Xterio, she co-founded WafaGames in 2017 after ai. Law's successful acquisition.

Kathy is also:
- Foundation Board Member, World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community 2013-2016;
- Co-chair, APEC Women Leadership Forum 2013 - 2014;
- Member, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC);
- Image Ambassador of Youth for the city of Chengdu, China.

CEO Reinsurance China and China Country President, SwissRe, Beijing, China

Ivan Gonzalez has been appointed CEO Reinsurance China and China Country President with effect from 1 July 2022. Prior to that, he was Regional Chief Executive Officer North America with effect from 1 July 2016 and member of the Corporate Solutions Executive Committee with effect from 1 July 2019.

Ivan started his career in 2000 as a financial analyst with Swiss Re Capital Partners in New York. During this time he assisted in a number of private equity investments in the financial services sector as well as several corporate development initiatives, including the acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions. In 2006, Ivan moved to Swiss Re Group Strategy in Zurich, where he worked on various strategic initiatives across Business Units and geographies. In 2011, he was appointed Swiss Re Corporate Solutions CEO Latin America, based in Brazil. Under his leadership, the business achieved exponential, high-quality growth in Latin America through organic and inorganic initiatives. In 2016, Ivan was appointed Swiss Re Corporate Solutions CEO North America based in New York, where he was responsible for the US and Canada.

Ivan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, and a Master's degree in Business and International Affairs from Columbia University, New York.

Ivan J. Gonzalez was born in 1976 and is a Colombian citizen.

General Manager, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) South China Chapter, Shenzhen, China

Francine Hadjisotiriou is the General Manager of the European Chamber South China Chapter where she manages the Guangzhou and Shenzhen office operations.

She has 30 years’ experience in B to B services of which more than 20 spent in Asia. After working in Tokyo, Japan, for more than three years in the credit-insurance company, she joined the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and established the Nanjing Chapter in early 2004. Two and half years later, she was transferred to the South China chapter to manage and develop the regional chapter by opening the Guangzhou and Shenzhen offices. She also mentors the chapters of Nanjing, Shenyang, Southwest China, Tianjin and the Shandong project. In her role, she is committed to providing effective communication and lobbying channels for EU companies, summarizing the main points of China's current business and market situation for members, and providing analysis of policies and macroeconomic developments.

Director of Global Studies Program and Presidential Chair Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Research area: Chinese Foreign Policy, Sino-American Relations, Corruption Issues, International Political Economy, Northeast Asian Security, Macaology

Professor HAO Yufan was also a visiting professor to Peking University, Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China, and a visiting fellow at the Seoul Academy of East Asian Studies, International University of Japan, Keio University and the Brookings Institution.

He is currently holding honorable adjunct professorship at Fudan University, Shanghai University of International Studies, Sun Yat-sen University, Jinan University, etc.

Founder, Reexen Technology, AI processors and chips, Shenzhen, China

Reexen Technology is a startup developing new technologies of energy-efficient AI processors and chips using In-Memory and Near-Memory Computing. Aiming at building end-to-end solutions for specific AIoT and mobile applications, Reexen is working on the full technology stack that combines AI processor, analog/digital sensor processing and software framework for applications such as healthcare monitoring, image or voice recognition, language translation, autonomous driving, AR/VR, etc.

Key numbers:

• Founded in 2018
• Reached around 20M$ rounds of financing and 7M$ revenue in 2022
• Team of 60 people, mostly in R&D
• Located in Zurich, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Shanghai
• Published 30+ patents and 20+ ISSCC/JSSC papers

Chief Economist, China International Capital Corporation (CICC); President, CICC Research Institute, Beijing, China

Dr. Peng Wensheng is currently the Chief Economist of China International Capital Corporation Limited and the Dean of CICC Research Institute.

He used to be the chief economist and head of the research department of China International Capital Corporation Limited, the vice president of Everbright Group Research Institute, the global chief economist and director of the research institute of Everbright Securities, and the global chief economist of CITIC Securities.

Prior to CICC, Dr. Peng joined Barclays Capital in 2008 as Head of China Economic Research and Managing Director.
From 1998 to 2008, Dr. Peng worked in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, successively served as the head of the Economic Research Division and the External Affairs Division (Mainland China Affairs), leading the macroeconomic and financial research in Mainland China, and responsible for the financial development and cooperation in Mainland China. affairs.

From 1993 to 1998, Dr. Peng worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, where he was responsible for economic research on emerging Asian markets.

Dr. Peng Wensheng received bachelor's degree from Nankai University in Tianjin and PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Group Chief Risk Officer, Member, Group Executive Committee, AIA; Member, stars International Board, Hong Kong, China

Aged 49, Jayne Plunkett is the Group Chief Risk Officer responsible for the Group’s risk and compliance functions. She joined AIA in November 2019 from Swiss Re, where she was most recently Chief Executive Officer Reinsurance Asia, Regional President Asia and member of the Group Executive Committee.

During her time with Swiss Re, Jayne had held several senior positions including Head of Casualty Underwriting for Asia and Division Head Casualty Reinsurance. Prior to that, she was with GE Insurance Solutions. Jayne holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drake University. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

German Consul General, Guanzhou, China

Mr. Jan Rudolph is an “old China hand” who has been dealing with China in different diplomatic capacities for over 20 years. He has been German Consul General in Guangzhou since July 2021, after 4 years as Head Political Section at the German Embassy in Beijing.

Executive Chairman, stars Foundation, Weinfelden, Switzerland

• 2014 – present: Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of the stars Foundation Board, Weinfelden, Switzerland
• 2008 – 2014: Chairman and Co-Founder of the stars Foundation Board, Weinfelden, Switzerland
• 1994 – 2016: Member of the Board of UBS Wolfsberg and Congress Hotel Seepark AG
• 1994 – 2014: CEO, UBS Wolfsberg. Emphasis on Business Development, i.e. initiating, supervising, and conducting UBS Briefings, UBS Health Forum, UBS Arts Forum, UBS Study Trips, UBS Think Tanks, Wolfsberg Podium (www.wolfsberg.com)
• 1981 – 1994: Various responsibilities for UBS Management and Executive Development, Member and Chairman of the Board of UBS Art Collection
• Concurrently: Member of the Board of various companies and foundations in Switzerland

President, American Chamber of Commerce in South China, Guangzhou, China

Under his direction since 1991, companies led by Harley have achieved firsts in many areas in China, including: the first majority western owned and operated power plant; first western invested toll road; and, first western owned and operated joint US-China university in China offering four year fully US accredited degrees without the need for the students to travel to US.

Harley is a visiting professor at Jinan University. He’s former Chairman of Montgomery College and State Chairman of the Maryland Association of Community College Trustees representing all seventeen community colleges of higher education in the State with over 35,000 faculty and staff and 100,000 students. He’s former Member of the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Institute, the largest private Catholic Charity in the United States, by appointment of Cardinal James A. Hickey.

He’s recognized by President George Herbert Walker Bush for his involvement with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He’s special Advisor to Chairman, President George Herbert Walker Bush Foundation for US-China Relations.

Dr. Harley Seyedin was among 228 individuals from around the world to have been nominated and subsequently shortlisted in March 2016 by the Nobel Committee for consideration for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

To see more roles and positions, click here.

Art Collector, Business Leader, Former Swiss Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, North Korea and Mongolia; Member, stars China Advisory Panel, Mauensee, Switzerland

Dr. Sigg has spent the last few decades acquiring the world's largest collection of Chinese contemporary art. His collection includes works from Ai Weiwei, Cao Fei, Zhang Xiaogang, Liu Wei, Wang Guangle, and other famous Chinese artists. At its height, his collection consisted of around 2,300 works - ranging from important revolutionary paintings to modern day abstracts.

He first came to China in the late 70s with Schindler Elevators, to establish what would later become the very first joint venture between China and the outside world. Later, he turned from business areas more into diplomacy and art.

“While people may see me as a collector who put together the most significant collection of Chinese contemporary art in the world, I prefer to view myself a researcher of China and of Chinese contemporary art who just happened to buy some of the results of his research. ” – Dr. Uli Sigg

Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to the People’s Republic of China, Beijing

Ambassador Jorge TOLEDO ALBIÑANA is a career diplomat from Spain. After taking his Degree in Law and entering the Diplomatic School in Spain, he joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1989. Since then, except for three years in Senegal, where he was Ambassador of Spain from 2008 to 2011, his career has been devoted mostly to European Union Affairs. Among others, he was Spanish Secretary of State for the EU and European Affairs. In Asia, he has been posted to India and Japan before arriving to China in September 2022 as the Ambassador of the European Union.

Chief Economist, Hang Seng Bank; Former Chief Economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Shanghai, China

As Chief Economist at Hang Seng Bank, Dr. WANG Dan is responsible for research and forecasts related to China's macro-economy, China's regional development, geopolitical risks and financial markets.

She is often seen in interviews on various economic topics in both international and Chinese media such as BBC, Forbes, CGTN, Yicai, Phoenix, etc.

Editor in Chief, Financial Times China; Honorary Lecturer, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Wang Feng has worked for the Financial Times as Editor in Chief of FTChinese.com since April 2015.

Prior to the FT, he was the editor of scmp.com, the online edition of the South China Morning Post, after moving to Hong Kong from Beijing in 2012.

He was the founding editor of cn.reuters.com, the Chinese language financial news site of Reuters, and Editor in Charge of Reuters Chinese News service. He had also worked as a journalist for various Chinese news organisations including Caijing magazine in Beijing.

He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley.

Academic Deputy Dean; Associate Professor, Peking University, Beijing, China

Yong Wang is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Academic Deputy Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University.

Before joining PKU, he worked at the Department of Economics at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the World Bank. Yong obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

His main research fields are Economic Growth, Macro Development, China and India's Economy and Political Economy. He publishes academic papers on journals including Journal of Development Economics and Journal of Monetary Economics, and is an author of eight books including Thoughts and Debates on New Structural Economics (Peking University Press). Yong serves as an Associate Editor for China and the World Economy (SSCI) and Economic Modelling (SSCI). He is a recipient of the First Prize of National Academic Research in Humanities and Social Sciences in Chinese Universities by the Ministry of Education of China (2020), the Inaugural Peikang Chang Young Scholar Award in Development Economics (2018), China Young Economist Award (2017), Franklin Best Teaching Award at HKUST(2014), and the Martin and Margaret Lee Prize in Price Theory at the University of Chicago (2004).

Yong has been invited to present his research at policy institutions such as IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, US Department of State, US Department of Treasury, National Development and Reform Commission of China, and Korea Institute of Finance. He also serves as Secretary General of the New Structural Economics Research Alliance and Consultant of the World Bank.

Chief Representative, BASF China; Former President, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC); Member of the Board, Robert Bosch Internationale Beteiligungen; Member, stars International Board, Beijing, China

Joerg Wuttke is Vice President and Chief Representative of BASF China, based in Beijing. Since joining BASF in 1997, he has been responsible for helping guide the company’s investment strategies for China, negotiation of large projects and government relations. Previous to joining BASF, Joerg worked with ABB for 11 years.

Besides BASF, Wuttke is three-term President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC). Wuttke previously served as President from 2007-2010 and from 2014-2017, and he took up his third term in 2019.

In January 2011 the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), a Paris based body of major business associations that lobbies the OECD, named him to become Chairman of the BIAC China Task Force.

Since its establishment in 2013, Joerg is member of the Advisory Board of Germany’s foremost Think Tank on China, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), in Berlin.

From 2013 to 2016, he was Vice Chairman of the CPCIF International Cooperation Committee, a group representing Multinational Companies in China’s Chemical Association.

Wuttke holds a BA in Business Administration and Economics from Mannheim and he studied Chinese in Shanghai 1982 and Taipei 1984-85. A frequent speaker on business and industry issues in China, he co-authored:

• “The Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry in China” Springer Publishing Trust (2005)
• “Energy Resources Security” Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (2006)
• “My 30 years in China” ACA Publishing (2008)
• “Gelebte Geschichte - 40 Erfahungen” CBT China Book Trading (2012)
• “The Handbook of Chinese Organizational Behavior: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice” Edgar Elgar Publishing (2012)
• “Peter Tichauer; Perspektivenwechsel” OWC (2015)
• “The Dark Side of China’s Economic Rise” in "Europe and the World: Global Insecurity and Power Shifts; Helmut K. Anheier and Robert Falkner (eds.); University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd (2017)

Chairman at Hong Kong Institution for International Finance; Professor of Practice of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; Founding Director, Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, Beijing, China

Prof. XIAO Geng is founding Fellow, founding President, and current Chairman of the Hong Kong Institution for International Finance (HKIIF), member of the expert groups for the advisory bodies of the Shenzhen and Hengqin governments, member of the Academic Committee of International Monetary Institute (IMI) of the Renmin University of China.

Xiao received B.S. in System Sciences and Management Sciences from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and MA and PhD in Economics from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Professor Xiao’s research and practice have focused on China’s economic reform and opening, covering macroeconomics, international finance, capital market, enterprise reform and productivity, urban development, and U.S.-China relations. He contributes to a monthly column at Project Syndicate since 2012 (https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/xiao-geng).

Over last few decades Professor Xiao has held positions in key academic, policy, regulatory, and business institutions, including Professor Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS), Professor at University of Hong Kong, Vice President of Fung Global Institute, Director of Columbia University Global Center in Beijing, founding Director of Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, Senior Fellow of Brookings Institution, Head of Research and Advisor to the Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, Vice President of Chinese Economists Society (USA), Visiting Scholar and Faculty Associate at Harvard Institute for International Development, Consultant of the World Bank and UNDP.

Partner and General Manager, South China Region of Sinovation Ventures, Shenzhen, China

Sinovation Ventures (创新工场) is a Beijing-based venture capital firm founded in 2009, with AUM of US$ 3 billion (2022) . The firm focuses on investing in startups in high technology, especially artificial intelligence. It was one of the first Chinese venture capital firms to establish a presence in the United States.

In Sinovation, Dr. XIONG Hao focuses on the investment direction and investment opportunities in South China, leading the South China team to explore the market and expand regional influence.

Xiong has worked in investment institutions such as Legend Capital and Cowin Capital, engaged in high-tech investment, focusing on TMT and innovative consumption fields, and has led investments in online education, sports, smart hardware, technology and Internet + traditional industries for multiple companies. Before entering the venture capital industry, he worked in R&D in the field of electronics and semiconductors.

Head of External Alliance, China Innovation Center, Roche China, Shanghai, China

Joe ZHENG has been with Roche for 9 years, since August 2019 working as an External Alliance, Research & Early Development Lead at its Shanghai location. Prior to that, Mr. ZHENG was a Consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in Shanghai, doing healthcare focused management consulting.

Dr. ZHENG holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Fudan University, a M.S. in Biochemistry from the Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from University of Chicago.

Co-Founder, Enabot, Family Robots, Shenzhen, China

Founded in 2018, Enabot focuses on the R&D and global sales of home service robots. Existing products include home service robot EBO X, pet companion robot EBO Air, and mobile security camera EBO SE. Enabot continues to innovate in the fields of home security, communications, companionship, entertainment, and home interconnection.

Enabot has more than 40 employees, with R&D personnel accounting for more than 80%. Most of them have industry backgrounds in the design, development and productization of robotic products. Enabot has received investments from Sequoia Capital and Longfor Capital.