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Bill Russo
Founder & CEO of Automobility Limited & Automotive Committee ChairBill Russo is the Shanghai-based founder and CEO of Automobility Limited, a strategy and investment advisory firm helping its clients to create the future of mobility. His over 35 years of experience include 15 years as an automotive executive in China and Asia and nearly 12 years in the electronics and information technology industries. He has worked as an advisor and consultant for numerous multinational and local Chinese firms in the formulation and implementation of their global market and product strategies. Bill is also currently serving as the chair of the Automotive Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. In his current role, Bill advises startups, corporations and investors on how to maximize their participation in China’s Automobility Revolution. Bill was previously the regional head of Chrysler in North East Asia.
Anning Chen
Group Vice President of Ford Motor Company, President & CEO at Ford ChinaAnning Chen is appointed president and CEO of Ford China, effective November 1, 2018. Chen will report directly to Jim Farley, chief operating officer, Ford Motor Company. In this newly-created role, Chen will lead the company’s operations in Greater China, including all import and joint venture operations. He will also implement the company’s global strategy and lead China’s future development.
Chen is a 25-year auto industry veteran with extensive expertise in leading transformation; establishing alliances and joint ventures, and developing competitive products for China. He “comes back home” to Ford, where he first began his distinguished career in 1992. During his seventeen years at Ford, he held various executive management roles focusing on product and technology platform development, and joint venture expansion.
Most recently, Chen was CEO of Chery Automobile LTD, China, as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, China. In this role, Chen led the success of Chery Jaguar Land Rover; He also directed the Chery turnaround, transforming it into a profitable globally-operated Chinese auto company that has international business outreach and a diversified culture.
From 2010 to 2018, Chen held several leadership roles in Chery Automobile LTD, China including: CEO; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Vice President of Products and Engineering. He also held the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, China; and Chairman of the Board, Qoros Automotive, China.
Chen holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. and he earned his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross Business School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Julian Blissett
GM Executive Vice President, President at GM ChinaJulian Blissett was appointed General Motors executive vice president and president of GM China, effective April 2020. Based in Shanghai, he oversees all of GM’s operations in China.
In his previous position of senior vice president, International Operations – leading GM’s global operations outside the Americas and China – Blissett streamlined operations and refined GM’s global go-to-market strategies for GM’s International Operations, strengthening the foundation to turn around financial performance and sustain a customer-focused organization.
Prior to Blissett’s role in GMI, he was executive vice president of SAIC General Motors (SAIC-GM), GM’s flagship joint venture in China, for five years from May 2014. SAIC-GM played a leading role in strengthening GM’s foothold and dealer networks as well as deploying the company’s diversified electrification solutions in China.
A native of the United Kingdom, Blissett began his career with GM in 1996, as Central Engineering manager for Opel Polska. Since then, he has held various management positions of increasing responsibility in the U.K., China and GM International Operations (GMIO) markets.
In 2006, Blissett started his first tenure at SAIC-GM, as deputy executive director of Manufacturing. In March 2010, he was appointed GMIO executive director of Manufacturing Engineering.
Blissett became vice president of New Business Development and Alliances for GMIO in December 2011. Based in Shanghai, he supervised the growth of GM’s alliances and other partnerships across the region while exploring new business opportunities.
Prior to joining GM, Blissett worked for Nissan Motor Manufacturing U.K. Ltd. for eight years in manufacturing engineering and production leadership in the U.K. and Japan.
Blissett holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and business studies from Sheffield Hallam University in the U.K.
In 2019, Blissett received the Magnolia Gold Award from the Shanghai Municipal Government for his contributions to the economic and social development of Shanghai.
Freeman Shen
Founder, Chairman & CEO of WM MotorFreeman Shen is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of WM Motor, an emerging leader in China's fast growing electric vehicle and e-mobility market. Prior to WM, he co-founded and was CEO of Pateo Group, a leading vehicle connectivity and telematics company. Earlier in his career, Mr. Shen was a Board Member and Group Vice President of Geely Holding Group. While at Geely, he was responsible for the acquisition of Volvo Car Group in 2010, following which he was appointed as Chairman of Volvo China. Before Geely, Mr. Shen held a number of senior roles in the automotive industry in China, including Vice President of Fiat Group China, CEO of Fiat Powertrain Technologies China, and Founder and First President of BorgWarner China. Mr. Shen's early career was spent at Eaton Corporation and TXU Group.
Mr. Shen holds a BSc in Engineering Mechanics from the South China University of Technology; an MSc in Structural Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA); and an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.
In recognition of his services to local economies and communities, Mr. Shen was awarded the Camellia Award from the Zhejiang Provincial Government in 2003, and the Magnolia Award from the Shanghai Municipal Government in 2013. He was a member of the Board of Overseers, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota; a fellow with the Aspen Institute; and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Aiying Wang
Vice President & General Manager at Eaton APACAiying Wang has served as the VP/GM for the Electrical Component Division in the Asia Pacific Region of Eaton Corporation since March 2016. She has full P&L responsibility, including manufacturing operations, R&D, marketing, and sales of Eaton low voltage electrical components and Bussmann fuses.
Previously, Aiying was VP/GM for KEMET Electronics in Suzhou, China from 2011-2016, where she took great pride in building an engaged team to turn operations around, achieve worldwide performance records, and create a sustainable winning culture.
Aiying served in a diversity of roles working in the USA from 1993-2011 including R&D, operations, and supply chain with BIC Corporation, KEMET Electronics, and Michelin Tire companies. In her first industrial job as a bench chemist and scientist at BIC USA, she was granted over a dozen US patents.
Aiying holds a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry from the US and a B.S. degree in Chemistry from China. She served as Vice-Chair and Chair for AmCham Shanghai, Suzhou Center, from 2013-2018. She has been an active mentor for Eaton Global, Eaton APAC, AmCham Win in China, and Global Women Connect. Aiying recently completed the Australia Coaching Certification program to further enable her to contribute to leadership development.
Simon Yang
President of Asia Pacific at AptivDr. Yang is the president of Asia Pacific of Aptiv since January 2018. He works alongside the regional executive team on cross-divisional initiatives and leads the stewardship of Aptiv’s relationships with government and senior customer contacts.
Dr. Yang started his career with General Motors in 1995 in Warren, Ohio and relocated to China in 2003 to start-up connection systems operations in Asia. In 2008, he was appointed Managing Director for Delphi Connection Systems in Asia, driving substantial business growth from 2004 to 2017 and playing a key role in multiple acquisitions with highly successful integration. In 2014, Dr. Yang was appointed Delphi China President, directing the overall business in China, including 17 manufacturing sites and 3 technical centers. On December 5, 2017, with the successful completion of Powertrain Division spin-off, Delphi officially became Aptiv.
Dr. Yang earned his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Master of Material Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He received his Master and Ph.D. of Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Yang also completed the Senior Executive Program of Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. He has published 11 research papers in several USA and European science and technology journals.
Jianxiong Xiao (Professor X)
Founder & CEO of AutoXJianxiong Xiao (a.k.a., Professor X) is the Founder and CEO of AutoX Inc., a high-tech company working on self-driving vehicles. AutoX's mission is to democratize autonomy and enable autonomous driving to improve everyone's life. Dr. Xiao has over ten years of research and engineering experience in Computer Vision, Autonomous Driving, and Robotics. In particular, he is a pioneer in the fields of 3D Deep Learning, RGB-D Recognition and Mapping, Big Data, Large-scale Crowdsourcing, and Deep Learning for Robotics. He was awarded the Google U.S./Canada Fellowship in Computer Vision in 2012, the MIT CSW Best Research Award in 2011, NSF/Intel VEC Research Award in 2016, and two Google Faculty Awards in 2014 and in 2015 respectively. He co-lead the MIT+Princeton joint team to participate in the Amazon Picking Challenge in 2016, and won the 3rd and 4th place worldwide. He was named to be one of the 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2017, and one of the 12 of the most promising entrepreneurs to keep an eye on in 2018 by Next Visionaries.
Feng Shen
Executive Vice President & Chairman of Quality Management Committee at NIOMr. Feng Shen is our executive vice president and chairman of quality management committee. He joined our Company in December 2017. Mr. Shen worked in several senior executive management roles, such as president of Polestar China and global chief technology officer at Polestar, president at Volvo Cars China R&D Company, vice president of Volvo Cars Asia-Pacific Operation, and chairman at China-Sweden Traffic Safety Research Center from 2010 to 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Shen worked as a powertrain manager, Six-Sigma Master Black Belt and technical expert at Ford Motor Company from 1999 to 2010 in the United States and China. Mr. Shen received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and mechanics and a master’s degree in applied mechanics from Fudan University in 1984 and 1987, respectively. He also received a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University in 1996.
Jonathan Woetzel
MGI Director and Senior Partner of McKinsey & ConsultingBased in China since 1985, Dr. Jonathan Woetzel has been instrumental in building McKinsey's China office. In addition to his work helping Chinese and other Asian businesses prepare for global growth, Jonathan is a director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey's business and economics research arm. He also leads McKinsey's Cities Special Initiative and is responsible for convening McKinsey's work with city, regional, and national authorities in more than 40 geographies around the world. He is a co-chair of the not-for-profit think tank, the Urban China Initiative—a joint venture of Tsinghua University and McKinsey—that aims to develop and implement solutions to China's urbanization challenges.
Jonathan has led numerous research efforts on global economic trends, including growth and productivity, urbanization, affordable housing, energy and sustainability, e-commerce, and the economic impact of the Internet, as well as on productivity growth and economic development in China and Asia.
Jonathan's public sector work is extensive. He has advised national governments in Asia on improving the environment for foreign investors, national energy policy, and economic development strategies. He also leads work with local government authorities, having conducted more than 60 projects throughout China to support local economic development and transformation. This includes working extensively in real estate—specifically, on commercial revitalization—and advising on energy investment strategies and energy productivity and transparency, among other issues.
Jonathan works in the private sector as well, most often on issues related to corporate strategy, operations, and organization. He has served clients in industries such as energy, metals and mining, health care, telecommunications, and transportation and supported the largest company in China in a fundamental restructuring that led to the then-largest foreign listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jonathan actively participates in a number of international forums and lectures at the Guanghua School of Business and the China-Europe International Business School, and is also an honorary lecturer at Jiaotong University's Antai Business School.
Published widely in both Chinese and international publications, Jonathan has written five books on China, including Capitalist China: Strategies for a Revolutionized Economy (Wiley & Sons, 2003), Operation China: From Strategy to Execution (Harvard Business Press, 2007), and One Hour China (Towson Press, 2013). He has also coauthored, with Richard Dobbs and James Manyika, No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends (PublicAffairs, May 2015).
Gang Jia
Deputy Director of TEDA Automotive Industry Promotion BureauAs a professional in Automotive Industry, Mr. Jia used to be with CARTAC as Section Chief, Director and other positions in Policy Research Center before joining TEDA. He was in charge of several prominent policy and industry research programs, with expertise in automotive fields as domestic brand building, regional economy development, components, corporation strategy etc. Moreover, he has offered research and consultations for automotive companies including FAW-VW, SAIC-GM, Daimler, etc. and for more than 20 provincial governments. Since July 2019, Mr. Jia takes charge of the entire service and investment promotion for Automotive Industry in TEDA.
Charles Chang
Vice President, Asia Seating & Managing Director, China of Lear CoporationCharles Chang currently is Vice president, Asia Seating and Managing Director, China at Lear Corporation. Mr. Chang has been playing a lot of key roles since he joined Lear in 2000. He was Vice president Operations China to manage all Lear China seating plants. He also worked as regional director and plant general manager. Previously Mr. Chang had worked in GM China Corporation as China purchasing manager.
Mr. Chang earned a master’s degree of Business Administration from China Europe International Business School in 2007 and he got his bachelor’s degree from both University of International Business and Economics in 1996 and Wuhan Institute of Chemistry in 1992.
Yih Sng
Vice President & General Manager Asia E-Systems at Lear CorporationSng Yih, an auto industry veteran with over 22 years of experience, has worked as executive in China for more than 15 years. He understands local customers and culture.
Mr. Sng Yih is currently Vice president, General Manager Asia E-Systems. Prior to joining Lear last year, he was Vice President, General Manager Asia Pacific from Tenneco Inc, where he served a lot of key roles, including Aftersales GM of Asia Pacific, VP/GM China clean air, as well as heads of Strategy Planning, Human Resource and Legal.
Mr. Sng Yih earned his master’s degree of Business Administration from Nanyang Technological University in 2000 and he got his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Sociology from National University of Singapore in 1992.
Nick Lai
Head of Asia Auto Research at J.P. MorganNick Lai is Head of J.P. Morgan's Asia Autos Research team. He joined J.P. Morgan in 2004 as the SMid-Cap analyst for the Greater China market. Nick has been consistently ranked by Institutional Investor and AsiaMoney since 2003. Nick became Head of Taiwan Research in 2008 and moved to Hong Kong in 2013 after he assumed responsibility for Asia Autos. Nick has an MBA from the University of Cambridge and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.