Bill Yen
Director, MRT Design
SiteBorn in Taiwan and moved to the US with his family when he was eight years old, Bill came to China in 2003 on a post-graduate scholarship to study urban growth patterns. Before coming to China, he earned his master’s in architecture degree at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and his BA in economics and sculpture at Duke University. Under Sheila Kennedy, the principle of Kennedy and Violich Architecture, he had the chance to work with Herman Miller to develop their next generation of products and got to see how things are designed and developed outside of the traditional architecture discipline. In 2008, in addition to running an architecture and design firm, he founded and ran a product brand called MRKT (www.mrktstore.com). MRKT’s line of synthetic and wool felt accessories is currently sold in China, HK, Taiwan Singapore, Australia and Japan. Bill’s current fascination lies with the intersection of design and research and development. He currently run an architecture and interior design firm called MRT which he founded in 2005 with a partner. Having sold MRKT in 2010, Bill is currently designing and developing new products and is looking to launch a line of well-designed everyday items in 2011
Danielle Ruan
Director, COCO-MAT China
SiteDanielle Ruan was born in China, educated in Canada and lived and worked in North America and Europe for the past 20 years. She owned a sourcing company in Canada and is currently the director for COCO-MAT China, a Greek high-end sleep and home furnishing brand. Founded in 1989, COCO-MAT is one of the fastest growing companies in Europe and is recognized for its remarkable leadership in CSR initiatives. COCO-MAT’s distinct natural products with its simple and elegent designs are based on the foundation of sustainable business practice. Now that COCO-MAT is entering the Asia market, Danielle hopes to bring to China the same company culture of producing eco friendly products, hiring people that have social or physical challenges, supporting charitable organizations and events, along with its natural products.
David Li
Foreman, XinCheJian
Twitter WeiboFounder of XinCheJian, the first Hackerspace in China. Li has been in internet and software industries for 15 years and has actively participated in open source software development and movement for 20 years. He worked on interactive multimedia projects led by Steven Spielberg, virtual world project in Disney, enterprise IT project in Japan and social applications in Facebook. Last year, he started to look into the open source hardware and shanzhai industry which led to the establishment of the first hackerspace in China that provides a fun space to explore the relationships among open source hardware, physical computing, and Internet of Things.
David Redic
Musician and Artist
Redic whose birth name is David C. Redic II is a modern day Millennium Renaissance Artist. REDIC is Music, Fashion & Art. At his core he endeavors to encourage, inspire and impact the lives of others. He received his education in Psychology with English minor from Morehouse College in Atlanta. Music and songwriting is his creative spring board. He believes that music is "the sound track of life" and aspires to pin songs underscoring the human experience. It is also from the wellspring of music that his visual art and fashion emerges. Professionally, he has performed with world-class artists like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Natalie Cole, Brian McKnight and so on. In 2008, Redic wrote the theme song "Season of Change" for the election campaign of current U.S. President- Barrack Obama.
Frank Yu
CEO of Kwestr and Columnist
Site Twitter WeiboFrank Yu is the co-founder and CEO of Kwestr, a Shanghai-based new media start-up that helps users attain their dreams by giving them layered managed experiences connected to a social cloud. Frank is also the Technology Columnist for the China Economic Review and a China Games Analyst for the Gamasutra website. He consults on youth trends, technology and investment in China for various groups. Previously he worked at Microsoft, helped to launch Xbox in Asia and led IE7, Media Center and the first game team for Microsoft in China. In another life, he has worked at Coutts Natwest, PIMCO and served in the US Army Intelligence branch with a rank of captain. Frank used to write tech column for The SCMP, China Tech News and a Bureau Chief for the Baltic Observer in Lithuania and Latvia. He attended undergraduate at Rutgers College and earned his Master in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Gao Hu
Rocker and Singer
WeiboHe is the rocker and singer of band, Tongyang. He was born in Jiangsu Province and grew up in Xinjiang before he went to Beijing and graduated from Beijing Midi School. His engaging and imposing performance stands out from other musicians and he also has made a documentary film named Zhishi.
Hai Chen
Ceramist
She graduated from Ceramic Arts of Central Academy of Craft Art Department In 1996. In 1999 she studied after the French contemporary Ceramics artist Claude Champy. In 2003 she founded her own ceramic brand "Blue Shanghai White" in Shanghai.
Henry Hua
CEO of NCsoftChina Co., Ltd.
Henry was one of the founding members of Microsoft global technical center. In 2003, he took the VP position in Shanghai Wicresoft Company (a joint venture between Microsoft and the Shanghai Municipal Government). 2006, he founded MediaCommunicationGroup and established a large digital media network covering Beijing and Shanghai subway. In the end of 2008 he returned to the Internet industry as the CEO of NCsoftChina Co., Ltd.
Jiang Changjian
Ph.D, Fudan University
Jiang Chang Jian,Ph.D and Professor of School of International Relations and Public Affairs,Fudan University. Well-known media people. In 1993 With Fudan University he won the frist International Varsity Debate and captured by the "Best Debater"title.2001-2005 he was the chief planner of "Yanglan One On One".
John Davis
Dean of S.P.Jain Center of Management
Dean of Global MBA at S P Jain Center of Management. He isalso the author of five best-selling books on business and marketing. His latest work, Competitive Success: How Branding Adds Value ,was published in 2010. He was elected as the "Best Professor of Marketing in 2010" by the CMO Council. Besides, he also advised on marketing strategy of Fortune 1000 companies, including Nike, Informix, and Transamerica. He is also the Chairman of Brand New View consulting firm. Brand New View
Li Chao
Musician
As the leader of Shanghai Wenwan Guqin Club, he was inextricably associated with Guqin, only which let him find his austere soul in the impetuous modern city. As an ancient musical instrument, Guqin reechoes the Chinese history of the past three thousand years with its ancient tone. In today's rapidly developing society, everything is changing so fast and people are gradually losing the peace and quiet to stress and anxiety. The perform of Guqin is an ancient way to edify and educate people through teaching both the techniques and culture. Wenwan Guqin Club is dedicated to deepen and expand the effectiveness of Guqin in today's society in order to create an affable and secluded idyll.
M.O.L.K
Acappella Group
SiteMOLK (Abbreviation for Music Of Living Keyboard) is an a cappella group founded in 2004 by four students of Shanghai Shixi High School. In 2007, the group adopts vocal performance without the aid of instruments, and became one of the first a cappella group in Shanghai. MOLK currently has six members: Yiliang Chai (Karl) from Fudan University, Yuanchao Huang (Tracy) from Shanghai Finance University, Congyun Zhao (Mike) from Shanghai International Studies University, Feng Zhu (Winston), Shaohe Zhang (Roy) and Junjie Wang (Jack) from Tongji University. The highlight of MOLK is the employment of a cappella, which features both astounding difficulty and aesthetic values, to perform Pop, Rock ’n Roll, R&B, Hip-Hop, Rap, etc.They re-interprete pop music and surprise audience with novelty and simplicity.MOLK’s motto: Infinite Possibility!
Mary Ho
Yoga&Energy therapy worker
Mary, a retiree from Singapore, is an active volunteer with charity organization Mifan Mama in Shanghai since 2010. In her time here, Mary conducts donation-based yoga classes and energy therapy work, and enjoys cooking for friends.She has travelled to visit many sacred sites to enhance her Soul Purpose. Having received many of life’s blessings, Mary is of a passionate belief to devote herself entirely to share and help others who are willing to receive and experience energy therapy work.
Wei Wu Hui
Lecturer and Entrepreneur
Site TwitterHe is a lecturer of the School of Media and Design at Shanghai Jiaotong University and a renowned blogger. In the late 1990s, he partook in the Internet industry and since then he has worked as operation manager, information architect and CEO in various companies. He began his professorship at Shanghai Jiaotong University since 2006.
Zhuang Zu’yi
Author
SiteAuthor of the best-selling book "Anthropologist in the Kitchen". She got her BA from Taiwan Normal University and MA of anthropology from Columbia University. In 2006, she quit her PhD study and pursued her interest of cooking inThe Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Upon graduation, she moved to Hong Kong with her husband and started her career through apprenticeship. She is the author of "Anthropologist in the Kitchen" in which she shares her experience as a professional chef.