Mattie Bekink is responsible for the Economist Corporate Network’s China strategy, including programme development and client servicing across China. She also provides support to all Economist Corporate Network programmes worldwide with a China component.

Ms Bekink has extensive experience in the public, private and policy sectors. Prior to joining The Economist Group, she was the Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in the Netherlands. She also ran an eponymous consulting business, advising senior executives from businesses, universities and non-profit organisations on China policy, strategy, public affairs, and corporate social responsibility. Ms Bekink practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, has worked with the US-Asia Law Initiative at NYU Law School and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative China Program, and served in the legal department at General Motors China.

Ms Bekink has a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Paul Shao is the managing director of Wash U – Fudan EMBA program. He is also the head of Executive Education department at Fudan University, School of Management. On both posts, Paul’s work focuses on develop top executives in China to lead and transform the business on global scale. Prior to joining the higher education sector, Paul had worked in consulting business for 16 years and served a wide variety of clients from different industries. Paul holds a M.B.A program from Olin business, Washington University in St. Louis, and is a doctoral candidate at Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California.

Cheuk is currently CEO, Greater North for Dentsu APAC.

He is an industry thought-leader who has built his career leading creative, media, data and technology businesses. He joined dentsu from Mutiny Group the world’s first predictive management consultancy and technology company leveraging the latest in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Prior to Mutiny, Cheuk was CEO, Asia Pacific for Omnicom Media Group where he led over 4,000 staff in 47 offices across 21 markets. Prior to joining Omnicom Media Group, Cheuk was at Cummins & Partners in Australia where he had a long and successful spell as MD of the globally acclaimed and highly awarded creative hot-shop. Cummins was later acquired by Sapient.

Over the past 28 years Cheuk has worked on a number of high profile brands including ANZ, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Heinz, Hennessy, HP, Holden, HTC, Kraft, Mars, Myer, Motorola, Nestle, Nikon, Procter & Gamble, Tiger Beer and Unilever.

In 2002, he was recognised as one of the top executives in the region and conferred Media Magazine’s Suit of the Year award.

In 2010, Cheuk was named Agency Innovator of The Year by the Internationalist Magazine

Throughout his tenure at Omnicom Media Group, its brands OMD and PHD won over 130 local and regional agency of the year awards across the Asia Pacific region.

Cheuk served as a judge at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2011 and 2013 and is a strong advocate for innovation and creativity.

In 2015, Cheuk was named Asia Pacific Agency Head of the Year (Media) by Campaign Asia.

In 2016 he continued to lead the charge for creativity and effectiveness taking on additional roles as Chairman of the APAC Effie Awards and President of the Spikes Asia Media jury.

In 2017, Cheuk was made Chairman of the APAC Effie Committee.

In 2018, he was made President of the Dubai Lynx Media jury.

Lyndon Neri co-founded Neri&Hu Design and Research Office with Rossana Hu in 2004, an inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China. Through his practice, Neri has reinforced a core vision: to respond to a global worldview incorporating overlapping design disciplines for a critical paradigm in architecture, while believing strongly in research as a design tool, as each project bears its unique set of contextual issues.

Neri was appointed as the John C. Portman Design Critic in Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2019, and taught as the distinguished Norman R. Foster Visiting Professor Chair at Yale School of Architecture in 2018.

Neri is also the Founding Partner and Creative Executive of Design Republic in Shanghai, a design platform incorporating retail concept, design/cultural exhibitions and education. In 2015, Neri was appointed as the Creative Director of Stellar Works.

Neri and his firm have received a distinguished list of international awards spanning the fields of architecture, interior design, industrial design, and graphic design: The Madrid Design Festival Award (2020); Design for Asia Grand Award (2020); The Blueprint Overall Award for Design (2019); The PLAN Award (2018); Designer of the Year, Elle Deco International Design Awards (2017); Interior Designers of the Year, Iconic Awards (2017); INSIDE - World Festival of Interiors (2017); Designer of the Year, Elle Deco Japan Design Awards (2016); Dezeen Hotlist (2016); Designer of the Year, Maison & Objet Asia (2015); Designer of the Year, Wallpaper* (2014); Far Eastern Architectural Design Award (2014); US Interior Design Hall of Fame induction (2013); Architectural Review Emerging Architecture Award (2010); Red Dot Award in Communication (2010); Design Vanguard, Architectural Record (2009).

Born and raised in Philippine, Neri received his Master of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at UC Berkeley.

Alice Wong is the CHRO for Citi China. She has 20+ years of HR experience in consulting, corporate and executive search firms. She forms talent strategies together with the business and oversees business partnering, performance management, diversity and inclusiveness, organizational development, recruiting, total reward and people engagement initiatives.

Prior to joining Citi, Alice was the Head of HR at EY for Greater China. She started her career in PwC as a tax consultant and then joined a start-up UK-based telecoms company in a global recruiting role. She has also worked as a head-hunter covering Greater China for various firms.

She has a Bachelor of Anthropology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.