Global Senior Executives and Government Officials Converge on 'Cutting-edge Insights from China' Program

BEIJING, Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) has hosted a global cohort of Fortune 500 senior executives, members of parliament, senior diplomats and NGO leaders from eleven countries for an eye-opening executive education program, 'Cutting-edge Insights from China' (CIC), at the school's Beijing campus. The four-day program is specially designed for global senior executives of multinational companies and policy makers to advance their knowledge on China, so that they can stay ahead of the curve and have more confidence facing a changing global future.

The diverse class comprised of C-suite senior executives, founders and key decision makers in family businesses, and senior officials in government offices and NGOs. Half of the participants are based in China, while the other half flew in for the program.

Taught by CKGSB's seasoned professors, the CIC program presents valuable insights into how China's history, policies and innovations are affecting the region's economy. "We learnt what was happening in China through multiple lenses. CKGSB's approach is really new to me," said Ms. Joan Elangovan, Executive Director of Asia Pacific Centre of Vancouver Economic Commission.

The program expands on industry perspectives through panel discussions and direct interactions with leading Chinese unicorns and unicorns-to-be through company visits. Participants visited Bytedance, the largest AI-powered content platform in China and the highest-valued startup. Participants also visited the global education company and unicorn, VIPKID, whose founder Cindy Ma is an alumnus of CKGSB.

"This has been an eye-opening experience for me to understand how China has significantly progressed on technology and innovation, and how Chinese unicorn companies work," said Ms. Vira Widiyasari, Senior Vice President of one of the state-owned banks in Indonesia.

Fu Chengyu, former Chairman of Sinopec and CNOOC who is currently CKGSB Professor of Management Practice of Governance and Innovations at Large Corporations, shed light on how different types of Chinese enterprises are collectively shaping the landscape of both domestic and international markets.

Emphasizing the value of the program, CIC Program Director and Assistant Dean of CKGSB Mr. Zhou Li noted, "China has the fastest growing mid-income market and has become a new source of innovation. We are pleased to hear from the CIC 2019 participants that they found the program of great value in their understanding of China. One must come to China to truly understand it."