“SOIL” 99th Forum: CLGO Alumni Talk about Career Development and Transformation

On April 28, 2021, “SOIL” Forum of the China Leaders for Global Operations (CLGO) project of Antai College of Economics and Management (ACEM), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) was honored to invite CLGO Class 2010 alumni Mr. Lu Jiasi and Mr. Hong Bin to share with the students. Ms. Chen Xiaorong, former Director of CLGO, also was present at the sharing. 

Mr. Lu Jiasi, the first guest speaker, is currently the Global Procurement Manager of Apple Procurement and Operations Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. He once served as the class representative of CLGO 2010 Class and won honors such as Outstanding Graduate of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Outstanding Class Cadres of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Mr. Hong Bin, the second guest to share, is an investment partner of DraperDragon Fund. He serves as the former Rotating Chairman of SJTU-ACEM Shenzhen Alumni Association, the director of SJTU-ACEM MBA Alumni Association and the Secretary General of the Automobile Special Committee, etc. The Automobile Professional Committee he serves for is one of the most influential special committees. He successfully introduced a Partner Company for the CLGO Program. During the meeting, the two alumni not only introduced their respective industry information but also gave a realistic view of how the CLGO project experience has influenced their daily work and life from the perspective of a well-seasoned professional who graduated 10 years ago.

First of all, Mr. Lu shared with the students his experience of working at Apple for nearly ten years after graduation and then answered a series of questions for them, such as what kind of people are suitable for the working mode and status of parner companies, why parner companies prefer CLGO graduates, what value a CLGO graduate can bring to the company, whether the courses learned can play a part in the workplace, and whether any promotion bottleneck will be encounter as the same as in other foreign companies.  In view of the problems that students are most concerned about in the talent recruitment of parner companies, Lu gave his opinion based on his years of recruitment experience and said that characteristics such as Diversity, Details, Attitude and Leadership are more attractive in the evaluation and selection of talents, and then gave examples to guide students how to develop the above qualities.

The second speaker, Mr. Hong Bin, started his sharing with a question:  "Would I give an offer to myself who was 12 years younger?" and then answered the question by evoking his study career at CLGO. One of his experiences impressed the students deeply,  that is, although worked for a car enterprise with a science and engineering degree, he embraced the challenge to be a guest of China Business Network and join in a dialogue show when he was a student.  With this  experience, he explained to the students a simple truth, that is, everything possible and a bold trial needed for new ideas. In addition to summing up his study career, Hong also highlighted for the students the entrepreneurial experience of DraperDragon Fund, illustrating with his practical experience that nothing is smooth sailing. In the early days of his business, he stepped on countless pits and experienced failure after failure and finally achieved success on the road of financial and technological integration. Quoting Tim Draper, the founder of DFJ, as saying "You will fail...and fail again...until you succeed", Hong Bin said "You get 0 for maintaining the status quo, 1 point for trying and failing, and 2 points for trying and succeeding. Since you have chosen CLGO, you must be brave enough to try in these two and a half years." Finally, he shared his three keys to success: sincerity and passion; value and gratitude; and staying away from negative energy. He also recommended two very meaningful books, one is Why Elites are Time Controller and the other is Insight.

Mr. Chen Xiaorong, former Director of CLGO, was also invited to this event. After listening to the sharing of the two "favorite students," Ms. Chen summarized the sharing with great emotion. First of all, Ms. Chen praised the inheritance spirit of the CLGO and gave a highly comment on the Program for its better development and on students and alumni for their stronger aspiration to contribute to the Program. Secondly, Ms. Chen recalled and commented on the two alumni's school and life experiences, analyzing some of their unique highlights and how those highlights had a profound positive impact on their later successes in their work.  Finally, Ms. Chen reminded the students that the most important thing is to "Be yourself" and everyone should find his/her own position and value. Not only do we need to be proactive in our study and life, but we also need to look at things in an overall, dynamic, long-term and systematic way.

The CLGO program aims to cultivate leaders who are proficient in technology and management with global vision and deep understanding of Chinese market environment for the field of operation in China and even the world. It is hoped that more students who are interested in global operation can participate in the events such as the “SOIL” forum, so that the CLGO program can be supported and recognized by all business parties and all parties can benefit from the industry-university-research interaction.