Samantha Zhu
Chairperson and Market Unit Lead, at Accenture Greater ChinaSamantha Zhu is Accenture’s Senior Managing Director, Chairperson and Market Unit Lead for Greater China, responsible for the company’s strategy, growth, and operations in the region. She leads a team of around 14,000 professionals that offer services across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Accenture Song to a wide variety of multinational and Chinese clients across industries.
Since she joined Accenture in 1997, Samantha has taken various leadership roles in Accenture Greater China, including Client Group Lead of Communications, Media & Technology, Operations Service Group, Human Capital and Diversity Lead and the Corporate Citizenship Council Lead. Under her leadership, Accenture Greater China was certified as Great Place To Work (GPTW) for three years in a row since 2022.
She helps CEOs and board members of local and multinational companies in China to reinvent their
operations in a changing business landscape to accelerate growth and innovation, build resilience and achieve 360-degree value.
Samantha has long been an advocate for responsible business and social impact, driving initiatives in women leadership, inclusion and diversity, and sustainability. She has been recognized as one of the most powerful women by Fortune China magazine in 2022 and 2023 and Forbes China’s 100 Power Businesswomen for three years as well. She sponsors Accenture’s engagement with World Economic Forum on China’s energy transition and responsible AI in industries.
Samantha holds Bachelor of Arts from Fudan University. She is based in Shanghai
Eric Zheng
President at AmCham ShanghaiEric Zheng became the President of AmCham Shanghai in 2022. He has been involved in the Chamber for over 15 years as a member, committee leader, Board member, Board treasurer, Board secretary, and Board vice chair, and Board chair (2018 and 2019).
Eric brings a unique combination of private and public sector experiences to the presidency. He worked in management consulting with PwC in the U.S. and later served for the U.S. Department of Commerce as the principal commercial officer at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. Eric had a long career with AIG in Greater China and held a series of positions that culminated in his service as CEO of AIG China. He then chaired the board of Heng An Standard Life Insurance Company.
In volunteer roles, Eric serves as the Greater China regional chair of the Committee of 100 and as a board director of Shanghai Make-A-Wish Charity Foundation. The Shanghai municipal government has granted Eric its Magnolia Gold Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the city. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Fudan University and an MBA from Georgetown University.
Gift Arpaporn Samabhandhu
President at Kenvue ChinaGift Arpaporn Samabhandhu is currently the President of Kenvue China. She is also a member of the Kenvue Asia Pacific Leadership Team.
A Thai national, Gift has lived in seven countries (Thailand, Canada, Vietnam, Spain, Singapore, Indonesia and China) with over 25 years work experience in the fields of Food & Beverage, Baby Nutrition and Consumer Healthcare, both in-market commercial and regional roles across Asia Pacific Region.
Gift started her career at LOWE Lintas managing Unilever Accounts, then Coca-Cola Thailand, Boots Healthcare International, Danone Groupe (both in Baby Nutrition and Dairy divisions), Mead Johnson Nutrition and Sanofi Consumer Health.
Prior to her current role, Gift was the Area President, Metropolitan Asia at Kenvue. Before that, she took the role of Managing Director for Johnson & Johnson Thailand & LCM, where she was responsible for the end-to-end growth of the business across Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Consumer Health sectors. Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Gift was the Zone Head at Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, covering a span of 11 markets across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.
Gift has a Bachelor of Business Degree from the Assumption University, Thailand, and an International Executive MBA Degree from the University of Victoria, Canada. She also holds a certificate for High Performance Leadership and Orchestrating Winning Performance from IMD Lausanne, Switzerland. Gift also served as where she also served as Chairwomen of the Nutrition Food Group sector under EUROCHAM Vietnam and two terms as Board of Governor and Vice President at AMCHAM Thailand.
Gift is based in Shanghai.
Xiangwei Gong
Asia President, Member of Executive Committee at Aptar GroupXiangwei is Asia President and an Executive Committee member of AptarGroup, a global leader in drug delivery, consumer product dispensing and material science solutions. She also serves as a non-executive director on the board of Oterra, a world leader in natural food colors headquartered in Denmark and is an advisor to EQT Group in Sweden.
Xiangwei holds a rich career of 30+ years spanning Pharma, Beauty, Personal Care, Food, and Nutraceutical industries at multinational companies, including 20+ years in Switzerland, China, and America for Roche and DSM before joining Aptar in 2018. Xiangwei is recognized as a visionary and dynamic leader, who prides herself in her ability to think and act cross-culturally and to find win-win solutions in even the most difficult situations.
Xiangwei is passionate about the development and advancement of women, young professionals, and youths in less economically developed areas. She is a senior advisor to sHero China and serves on the Board of Governors of Shanghai YZL Philanthropy Fund.
Xiangwei is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics such as Doing Business in China and US-China Business Relationships.
In December 2023, Xiangwei was interviewed at Aptar’s Suzhou facility, alongside US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, by CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl in her segment An American in China featuring Ambassador Burns. In the interview, Xiangwei spoke about her long term optimism on China’s economic development, especially in the healthcare and consumer goods sectors. The story was aired on CBS Sunday program 60 Minutes on February 25, 2024.
Xiangwei received her Bachelor of Economics from the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing and her EMBA from Columbia Business School in New York.
Sandra D’Souza
Founder of EllectSandra D’Souza is the founder of Ellect and a champion for gender equality in the business world. She is known for her Amazon No. 1 Bestselling book, “From Bias to Equality,” reflecting her commitment to increasing women's representation in business leadership.
With a strong background in corporate management and as an entrepreneur, Sandra was honoured as the Most Influential CEO of 2023 by CEO Monthly. Her leadership extended through her roles with the International NGO Business and Professional Women (BPW). She founded Ellect in 2019, which aims to reduce the gender gap in business, and has been recognised for promoting balanced leadership. Sandra’s efforts led to her being the only Australian featured in the Nasdaq’s 2021 Milestone Makers Program for her work towards reducing inequalities.
Recently, Sandra's work gained further recognition: her book was a finalist in the 2023 Australian Business Book Awards and The Leadership Awards, highlighting her influence in leadership and social responsibility. Her achievements underscore her commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on gender equality and reduced inequalities, making her a leading figure in advocating for change in the business sector.
Selena Chu
VP, APAC CIO at Dow ChemicalSelena Chu is currently the Vice President for Dow Greater China. She provides leadership and general management of Greater China, Dow’s largest international market - oversight of country strategy, sites management, and people & culture development. Based in Shanghai, China, she also serves as CIO for Dow Asia Pacific to drive digital solution development and implementation, covering areas of Digital Acceleration, Enterprise Service, and Information Security. She also partners with businesses and functions to enable regional business strategies.
Selena has over 20 years of consulting and industry experience covering various leadership roles including R&D Operation, Business/Innovation Strategy, Technical Information Service, and Digitization. Prior to joining Dow in 2008, she worked for GE (General Electric), KPMG Consulting Co, with working assignment in the US.
Selena holds a master’s degree of Computer Science, and bachelor’s degree of Industrial Design, both from Zhejiang University. She was recently listed as “Top 50 Women in Tech 2021” by Forbes China, and “Top 50 Future MPW 2021” by Fortune China.
Ying Ying Koh
Vice President, Franchise Performance & Holiday Inn Express, Greater China at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®)Ying Ying is the Vice President, Franchise Performance & Holiday Inn Express, Greater China at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®).
Prior to this role, Ying Ying is responsible for leading IHG’s overall strategic direction for HR for the Greater China region. She plays a critical role in driving the talent, organisation, culture and capability priorities and programmes to support system size growth and hotel-by-hotel performance. In partnership with the line leaders, her HR team provides comprehensive support and services for the Greater China corporate and hotel colleagues to enhance IHG’s reputation as an employer of choice in the region.
Before that Ying Ying had been Vice President, Hotel Operations, Human Resources, Greater China since 2012, where she provided functional and strategic leadership to develop and implement HR strategy and plan for our hotel operations in Greater China.
Ying Ying joined IHG in 2008 in the Singapore corporate office and has led teams in resourcing and HR within the Asia Middle East Africa region before moving to Shanghai.
Ying Ying brings with her over 20 years of diverse experience in consulting and recruitment across public and private sectors and has worked with companies such as PSD Group, ExxonMobil, Infocomn Development Authority of Singapore, and Economic Development Board.
Christine Wang
President, Managing Director of Accenture Song, Greater ChinaChristine Wang is a seasoned leader in digital, eCommerce, and marketing with over 20 years of experience across diverse markets and consumer landscapes. She currently leads Accenture Song in Greater China, driving business transformation and digital innovation.
Prior to Accenture, Christine held executive roles, including Co-CEO at Publicis Commerce and Performics, as well as COO and GM at a leading digital agency, where she was also a partner. In these roles, she led business strategy, operations, and finance, while serving as a senior strategist for major multinational brands.
Her expertise spans digital commerce, performance marketing, and marketplace strategy. Over the past decade, she has launched and scaled eCommerce operations for numerous global brands, including L’Oréal, GSK, Nestlé, P&G, Apple, Bacardi, Nike, Mondelez, Pepsi, and WeWork.
Christine maintains strong relationships with key industry players such as Alibaba, JD.com, ByteDance, Baidu, and Tencent. She collaborates with these partners on thought leadership initiatives, publishing industry insights and whitepapers.
She holds an Executive MBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and a Bachelor of Engineering from East China University of Science and Technology. Christine is trilingual in Chinese, English and French.
Joanne Goh
Head of Business Execution at Citibank (China) Co., Ltd.Joanne Goh is Head of Business Execution for Citi China, based in Shanghai.
In this role, Joanne is responsible for the execution of a wide spectrum of Citi China’s franchise management priorities. She is also focused on strengthening the firm’s risk management as well as legal entity governance.
Prior to assuming her current position, Joanne was the Head of Business Management of Corporate Banking in China, responsible for strategic priorities execution and in-business risk management of Corporates, Financial Institutions, Public Sector, and Global Subsidiaries groups. Before that, she was a China Market Specialist in Securities Services.
Joanne began her career at Citi as a Management Associate in Hong Kong in 2004, where she has held various roles in Operations, Financial Institutions, as well as Asia-Pacific and Hong Kong country Securities Services.
Joanne is passionate about promoting an inclusive culture and engagement. She is the Senior Sponsor for Citi China’s Families Matter Network and for CitiClub. She is also currently serving as the Vice Chair of the AmCham Shanghai’s Women’s Executive Network Committee. Joanne holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Chemical Engineering and Engineering Management degree from Cornell University.
Rosa Lee
Global Chief Human Resources Officer at AESC GroupMrs. Rosa Lee graduated from East China University of Political Science and Law with law degree, and obtained MBA from Kellogg School of Management – Northwest University & Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Having gained a breadth of leadership experience in several large multinational companies and accumulated more than 20 years’ experience in HR and business areas. During the experience, she led the team to formulate talent strategies to boost business transformation. As a pioneer, she launched the first pilot in the industry by establishing the APAC HR Chief Digital Officer & other roles under this role within her team to enable the transformation of business and talents, transforming structure to serve strategy. Since Jan. 2024, Rosa joins AESC, and takes the role of Global Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) of AESC Group Ltd.
Carol Zhou
SVP, China Business Innovation & Investment at ShiseidoAs SVP of China Business Innovation & Investment (CBI) for Shiseido, Carol is helping to shape the next phase of transformation for the company. She helps to accelerate the implementation of innovations and new business models to create new beauty businesses as the next growth driver for the group on a global level via both internal incubation of new businesses and external investments into new uprising companies. In June 2022, Carol led the launch of Shiseido’s 1st ingestible beauty brand – InRyu – in the China market. Now serving as the Inner Beauty Division GM, she will also incubate and create a portfolio of inner beauty brands to meet the needs of discerning beauty consumers.
In 2021, Carol set up the Shiseido Beauty Innovations Fund (Ziyue) with Boyu Capital to target companies focusing on fast-growing sectors of the China market, with the goal of enhancing its business portfolio for new brands and creating business synergies with existing businesses.
Previously, Carol held a number of management positions at multinational firms such as Unilever, Burberry, L’Oréal, Amway and Marriott, where she led global strategy & innovation and marketing functions across regions and categories. Carol received her undergraduate degree from New York University's Stern Business School and her MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-zhou-5a53472/