Community

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of innovators from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Search current members and alumni by year awarded, sector or region.

Billy Wai-Lung Ng

Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Professor Billy Wai-Lung Ng is an Assistant Professor at the School of Pharmacy at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he leads the Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery. He has successfully used cutting-edge technologies to develop therapeutic molecules for combating viral pandemics and aging-related diseases. Professor Ng and his international team were the first to discover that an approved HCV drug can be repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19. He is currently creating disruptive therapeutic molecules with the ultimate goal to eradicate cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Professor Ng completed his post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School and the University of Oxford after receiving his Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Chemistry from CUHK. He was also a Fulbright Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during his graduate study. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Marie Curie Fellowship, Croucher Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, and Hong Kong PhD Fellowship.

Cherie Nursalim

Vice-Chairman, Giti Group, People's Republic of China

Bachelor's in Engineering Science and Economics, Oxford University; MBA, Columbia University. Vice-Chairman, Giti Group. Special Climate Advisor to Government of Indonesia, Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investments. Member: International Advisory Board, Columbia University; MIT Sloan School; Asia Board, Harvard Planetary Health, Climate Change Center, University of Indonesia, Co Chair of Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center and UN SDSN Southeast Asia. Founding Member: Global and Asia Philanthropy Circle; United in Diversity Foundation. Initiated HIV/AIDS awareness for GT organization, which won award from Indonesian Government, ILO and UNAIDS.

Pan Jiang

Director-General, National Development and Reform Commission, People's Republic of China

Education Background: Post-doctor of Guang Hua School in Beijing University.

Working experience: Used to work in China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises for 8 years and promoted communication between Chinese SMEs and Foreign SMEs.

Liang Pei

Deputy Director, Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, People's Republic of China

Liang Pei, Deputy Director at the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, has played a pivotal role in the country’s engagement with the multilateral processes on climate change negotiations. With a track record of 12 consecutive Conference of Parties (COP) participation during his career in the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission, including witnessing the success of the Paris Agreement, he has actively contributed to combating climate change globally. Liang has spearheaded the drafting of critical joint statements, agreements and major outcome documents. He has also been instrumental in driving high-level cooperation and dialogues with key partners including the United States, European Union, France, India, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. Liang is dedicated to promoting China's ecological civilization and advancing the nation's commitment to achieving the 3060 goal. With a strong mission-driven approach and extensive experience in climate change and low-carbon development, he possesses a deep understanding of global climate governance and international cooperation on carbon neutrality.

Liang holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in International Relations from Peking University. He was a visiting scholar at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Jayne Plunkett

Group Chief Risk Officer, AIA Group Limited - Pan-Asian Life Insurance Company, Hong Kong SAR, China

Over 25 years of experience in insurance industry, holding various technical and management roles. From Jul 2016, CEO Asia and Member of Group Executive Committee, Swiss Re. From Nov 2019 Group Chief Risk Officer AIA. Fellow, Casualty Actuarial Society. Member, American Academy of Actuaries.

Dee Chu Ying Poon

Chief Executive Officer, PYE, Esquel Group, Hong Kong SAR, China

Dee Poon is the Managing Director of Brands and Distribution at Esquel Group, a global leading textile and apparel manufacturer with operations located worldwide.

Dee is a board member of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (Hong Kong), a member of the Asia Advisory Board at Christie’s, on the International Advisory Committee of Harvard University’s Asia Center (Cambridge, MA), a Member on the Family Advisory Council of The Ownership Project at Oxford Saïd Business School, as well as on the Global Steering Committee of Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health (Hong Kong & London). She is on the Board of Directors for the Esquel - Y.L. Yang Education Foundation. In 2014, Dee was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and designated a Fellow of Aspen Institute’s China Fellowship Program.

Actively engaged in the arts, Dee sits on the International Council of the Tate (London), and the International Council of The Museum of Modern Art (New York). She serves on the Board of Directors of the China Arts Foundation (Beijing & New York), and has served on the Board of Directors of Zuni Icosahedron (Hong Kong). Dee has also been on the Performance Committee at the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), a member of the Lincoln Center China Advisory Council (New York), and was a co-founder of the Ambassadors of Design (Hong Kong). Her 42-second short film “An Exercise in Futility,” shot as part of 42x42, was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival as well as the Cannes Film Festival.

Before joining Esquel, Dee was an Editor-at-Large for iLook Magazine and a featured columnist for Modern Weekly, where she wrote about sustainability. Her 2008 pop-up retail venture DYSEMEVAS was one of the first to highlight the emerging Chinese design scene outside of China.

Dee graduated from Harvard College in 2004 with a BA in philosophy

Zhuang Qian

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, KnowYourself, People's Republic of China

Zhuang Qian is the founder & chief executive officer of KnowYourself. During the last 5 years, she devoted herself in promoting the awareness of mental health within the society. KnowYourself is a start-up with the mission to lead a lifestyle of mental wellness in China. It provides psycho-education and self-care tools (meditation, therapy-e-mail, cognitive behavioral theory based products, etc.) that are adaptive to the current China and Chinese culture for its users. She takes it as her responsibility to participate in the trending digital innovation for the mental health services.

Qiaomei Fu

Professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, People's Republic of China

Qiaomei Fu is the Head of the Ancient DNA Lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the leading science institution in China. Her work has reinvigorated research into the origin of humanity through ancient DNA extracting techniques and advanced, next-generation gene sequencing to decode ancient humans' genomes.

Miranda Qu Fang

Founder, Xiaohongshu, People's Republic of China

Miranda Qu Fang is Co-Founder and President of Xiaohongshu.
Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is China's leading lifestyle platform with over 260 million monthly active users, and is continuing to grow rapidly. With millions of users sharing their lives in an authentic way on Xiaohongshu, many of whom are at the forefront of trends, the platform has become a gathering place for the latest lifestyle trends in China and a destination that empowers users to make informed consumption decisions. Xiaohongshu has also developed into an important brand marketing platform and an emerging e-commerce platform, where over 170,000 brands have a presence.
Over the past decade, Qu has continued driving innovation at Xiaohongshu, playing a key role in building up a unique business model that enables the company to constantly adapt to market changes and maintain rapid growth. She has a keen understanding of Chinese consumers and valuable insights, allowing Xiaohongshu to become a leading gauge in China's business and consumption trends.

Jen Zhu Scott

Founding Partner, IN. Capital, Hong Kong SAR, China

Jennifer Zhu Scott is the Founding Partner of IN. Capital, focusing on AI and deep tech. She was the Executive Chairman of The Commons Project, a non-profit public trust to build digital goods as public service. Jennifer was a Forbes World's Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018 and a Co-Chair of the Fortune Global Tech Forum in 2019. She is among Fortune's The Most Influential Business Women in China in 2021. Jennifer is a China Fellow of The Aspen Institute and has a dual Fellowship at The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). In 2014, Jennifer was appointed as one of the 18 council members of the China Council convened by the Global Agenda Council, the World Economic Forum’s think tank. In 2016, WEF re-appointed her to be one of 20 members of the inaugural Council of The Future of Blockchain, and in 2020, the Data Policy Council. Jennifer was honored by WEF as a Young Global Leader in 2013. She studied Applied Mathematics at Sichuan University and MBA in Finance at Manchester Business School. She completed the public policy and leadership program at Yale University in 2013, at Harvard Kennedy School in 2016, and at Oxford University in 2017. She also graduated from the inaugural executive program on sustainability energy and leadership at Princeton University in 2018. In 2017, Jennifer debated against the notion of Universal Basic Income at Oxford Union. At Davos 2018, she debated against Nobel Prize winner Prof. Robert Shiller and Swedish Central Bank Deputy Governor Cecilia Skingsley on Crypto Assets. She is a consultant for Season 5 and 6 of the HBO show Silicon Valley and a frequent public speaker and published author on data ownership, AI, and digital monetary policies. Her TED talk “Why you should get paid for your data” has more than 3.3 million views.

Shen Peng

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shuidi Company, People's Republic of China

In 2016, Shen Peng founded Waterdrop, a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact. He pioneered the business model of "Medical fundraising + Health insurance + Healthcare Services", helping 2.4 million families to raise 48 billion RMB medical funding, and providing high-quality and inclusive insurance services to 110 million users. Waterdrop Company is successively winner of "Advanced Company in Covid 19 Response" by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and "Advanced Organization of Beijing Poverty Alleviation Cooperation" by the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Beijing Municipal People's Government.

He’s a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience and expertise in the technology and internet sectors in China. Prior, he co-founded Meituan Waimai and served as business head of it. Listed on “2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia”, “2021 Fortune 40 Under 40 China”. Winner of “40 people in 40 years for China's insurance “Special tribute Award. Winner of “Advanced individual in Covid 19 response”by the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Democratic National Construction Committee. Winner of “Advanced individual in Poverty Alleviation” by the Democratic National Construction Association. Winner of “ACES 2021 Young Entrepreneur of the Year”. Member of the "Young Entrepreneur Committee” of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Visiting professor of Business School of China University of Political Science and Law. Winner of "2021 Outstanding Contribution Award" from the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University.

Yichen Shen

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lightelligence, People's Republic of China

Shen Yichen is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lightelligence, the world's first and leading optical computing company. Before founding Lightelligence, he was a scientist and engineer by training. He received his PhD in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a BSc in in Mathematics and Physics from Johns Hopkins University. During his doctoral period, he filed 10 US patents and published more than 35 peer-reviewed journal papers in Science, Nature Photonics, ICML and other top journals. In 2017, Yichen published a cover article on Nature Photonics, which for the first time proposed a theory to use light to perform AI algorithms. With this breakthrough, he was included on MIT Technology Review’s list of 35 Technology Innovators Under 35.