Innovation and China seem to have been at odds for a long time, at least in the past centuries. But the country known for its copy-cats has made huge strides forward, and innovation has become a key feature in the country´s development. Not surprising, also speakers at the China Speakers Bureau reflect that important development.
China has not only become a favorite testing ground for international companies to try out their new innovations, because of its huge market, since a few years amazing innovations have developed in China. Here is a selection of our speakers, who focus on those new developments in China.
Sharon Gai has 10+ years of experience in leading positions at e-commerce companies, including five years at Alibaba.
Sharon Gai is a China-born Canadian who is an expert in e-commerce, digital transformation, and AI. She is the former Head of Global Key Accounts at Alibaba and General Manager at a billion-dollar e-commerce unicorn. In her tenure at Alibaba, she has advised brands and heads of state in crafting their digital strategy with programmatic marketing and AI. She is the author of Ecommerce Reimagined: Retail and Ecommerce in China.
She has been the keynote speaker at TEDx, Singularity University, UBS, Nestle, Ecomworld, and Etail. She has appeared on ABC, CCTV, CBC, Techcrunch, Retail Asia, and The Next Web. Sharon is also a Global Shaper in the World Economic Forum. Sharon has an Honors Bachelor’s degree in International Development from McGill and a Masters in Information Management from Columbia University.
You can read more of her stories here.
Alvin Wang Graylin is China President, HTC HTC中国区总裁.
Graylin has written a new book, Our Next Reality – How the AI-Powered Metaverse will Reshape the World, about the pending transformation of society this decade brought on by the convergence of AI and metaverse technologies which will be published by Hachette Book Group in early 2024.
Under his leadership, HTC has been voted as the top VR company in China at the World Conference of VR Industry (WCVRI) three of the last four years, and Graylin has been recognized by media/industry experts as the most influential person in VR/AR in China from 2016-2022.
Graylin first did his research in VR space 30+ years ago under the tutelage of Prof. Tom Furness (The Godfather of VR) at the Human Interface Technology Lab, and specialized in AI/Natural Language Processing while at the University of Washington and MIT.
Graylin has over 28 years of business leadership experience in the tech industry, including 20 years in Greater China.
You can read his recent online activities here.
William Bao Bean is Investment Partner at SOS Ventures and Managing Director of Orbit startups
Kaiser Kuo is the former director of communication of China´s largest search engine Baidu. In China´s battle between the internet giants, Baidu is one of the leading forces, using innovation as a key competitive tool. For artificial intelligence, the internet of things Baidu invests in basic research.
To keep tracking among the often spoiled internet users in China, keeping up with consumer demand is equally important. With his American background, Kaiser Kuo is a major bridge building on the internet discussion, connecting China to the outside world.
You can read about hit online activities here.
Winston Ma is one of a small number of native Chinese who have worked as investment professionals and practicing capital markets attorneys in both the United States and China. He is currently serving as a managing partner at New York-based CloudTree Ventures. Before that, he was Managing Director and Head of North America Office for China Investment Corporation (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund.
At CIC’s inception in 2007, he was among the first group of overseas hires by CIC, where he was a founding member of both CIC’s Private Equity Department and later the Special Investment Department for direct investing (Head of CIC North America office 2014-2015). He had leadership roles in global investments involving financial services, technology (TMT), energy, and natural resources sectors, including the setup of West Summit (Huashan) Capital, a cross-border growth capital fund in Silicon Valley, which was CIC’s first overseas tech investment.
He wrote books and speaks on the following subjects:
The Digital War: How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace
The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds Are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy
China’s Mobile Economy: Opportunities in the Largest and Fastest Information Consumption Boom
and additionally: China’s sovereign funds, China’s digital Belt and Road Initiative, big data and asset management, data regulation, privacy, blockchain, and digital currencies.
Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group (CMR)
His latest book The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order is bound to become his third bestseller.
He is also the author of The End of Copycat China: The Rise of Creativity, Innovation, and Individualism in Asia, his second agenda-setting book on China.
Shaun Rein is one of the world’s recognized thought leaders on strategy consulting in China. His book ´The End of Cheap China. Economic and Cultural Trends that Will Disrupt the World´, published in 2012, solidified his reputation for challenging established classic ways to frame China.
You can read some of Shaun´s recent contributions here.
Ashley Dudarenok is a China marketing expert with two decades of professional experience in China. She is fluent in Mandarin, Russian, German, and English.
Ashley is also a serial entrepreneur, professional speaker, bestselling author, vlogger, podcaster, media contributor, and female entrepreneurship spokesperson. She is the founder of several startups, including social media agency Alarice.com.hk and resources & training company ChoZan.co.
She published in 2023 Digital China: Metaverses For Business: How Companies In China And The Rest Of The World Are Exploring Web3.
Click here for Ashley’s recent stories.