Based on research conducted by China Business Law Journal, the following are the winners and highly commended in-house counsel of CBLJ In-house Counsel Awards 2021-22. The awards are split into individual and team awards, and then into practice area and industry categories.
Click here to read the editorial report that accompanies the awards.
Biographies were provided and written by the in-house counsel themselves and have not been independently verified.
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Joe Zhou Head of Legal and Compliance Department, Compliance Director China International Capital Corporation |
WINNER
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Zheng Wei General Counsel CRRC Zhuzhou Institute |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Mu Xiaoqing General Counsel BAIC Capital |
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Mu Xiaoqing is the General Counsel of BAIC Capital. With extensive experience in private equity investment, M&A, legal and compliance management of state-owned enterprises and financial leasing, she leads the in-house legal team to participate in the whole process of fundraising, investment, management and exit, striking a fine balance between compliance risk control and business development. In 2021, several invested enterprises of BAIC Capital completed IPOs with support and assistance from Mu and her team. In addition, she effectively promoted the primary market exit for multiple projects and lowered project risk levels. Her contribution has helped BAIC Capital become a leading CVC player, proving that legal compliance work can also realise value creation. Prior to joining BAIC, she was a counsel at King & Wood Mallesons for many years. She holds a Master’s degree in law from the University of International Business and Economics, and is qualified to practise law in China. |
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Wu Nanxi Executive Director GP Innovation Capital |
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Xu Qian Deputy General Manager, General Counsel, Secretary of the Board BGI Genomics |
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Xu Qian is deputy general manager, secretary of the board and general counsel of BGI Genomics (stock code 300676) Xu has expertise in M&A, corporate governance, security investment and medical compliance. She has been recognised as a Top 15 General Council of China by ALB, received in-house counsel awards from the China Business Law Journal and placed in the Top 10 General Council of China by Chief Legal Officer. Xu won the Golden Board Secretary award from New Fortune, the Outstanding Board Secretary for IPOs award from the Chinese Securities Journal, and the Best Board Secretary of Listed Companies award from the Economic Observer. Xu is an arbitrator approved by CIETAC and SCIA, and has been invited to speak at major international and national forums. |
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Margarita Yao General Cousel Trina Solar |
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Zhang Deshen Board Secretary, General Counsel Changchun High-Tech Industries (Group) |
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As general counsel and the board secretary of the Changchun High-Tech group of companies, Zhang Deshen closely follows changes to the capital market and regulatory environment. He has ensured that the companies in the group strictly adhere to the internal control systems for listed companies. Zhang has actively researched modern enterprise management systems and practices. He strives to perfect such systems, improve the effectiveness of internal controls and ensure that the production and operation divisions conform to the latest legislation. He helps to implement the policies behind the reform of state-owned enterprises, set out the responsibility and power boundaries that the internal governance bodies have approved and improve the corporate governance structure. Zhang has established an enterprise management mechanism in which each division or unit not only performs its own duties, but also assumes responsibility for those duties. With Zhang’s guidance and input, the company has overhauled its capital structure, successfully spun off and listed a subordinate company and greatly improved its brand reach and competitiveness. |
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Bill Zhou Chief Risk Officer Fullshare Holdings |
WINNER
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Chen Ji Vice President, Legal and Compliance LianBio |
| Chen Ji is the VP of legal and compliance at LianBio (Nasdaq: Lian) covering the China and APAC areas.
She focuses on cross-border M&A, joint ventures, licensing and compliance in life sciences. She joined LianBio in April 2021 and assisted the company in completing a number of licensing transactions and launching its IPO on Nasdaq. Before joining LianBio, Chen was a corporate lawyer in the Shanghai Offices of Ropes & Gray and Linklaters, responsible for handling transactions including cross-border M&A, debt and equity financing and licensing transactions. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Duan Yingying Legal Director Sino-Ocean Capital |
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Danny Kan Chief Counsel (Overseas), Joint Company Secretary Ping An Insurance (Group) |
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Wang Yihan Senior In-house Counsel Linklogis |
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Frances Zhang Senior Legal Counsel HSBC Bank (China) |
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Frances Zhang is a Senior Legal Counsel at HSBC China, expert in securities and fund services, custody and settlement, and cross-border asset management. With over 10 years’ working experience, her involvement has included extensive legal negotiations with a wide variety of well-known domestic and foreign financial institutions, sovereign entities and regulated funds. She offers practical solutions to the bank to navigate regulatory changes and product expansion. Recently, she was one of the team providing legal support to complete first-of-a-kind transactions in the market. Zhang is also closely working with global and regional colleagues under a diversified corporate culture. Before joining HSBC, she worked at King & Wood Mallesons, focusing on banking and finance. She has a Bachelor of Laws degree from East China University of Political Science and Law, and a Master’s degree from Washington University in the US. She is now a candidate for a doctorate in business management from a European University. |
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Zhang Wang Vice President, General Counsel SenseTime Group |
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Zhang Wang serves as the Vice President of SenseTime and is responsible for legal affairs, intellectual property and standardisation. He is also the Chairman of the AI Ethics and Governance Committee of SenseTime Group. Prior to joining SenseTime, Zhang was Deputy General Counsel of Nestle Greater China Region, and General Counsel of Otis Elevator North Asia-Pacific Area for more than a decade. Previously he was a practising lawyer at Jingtian & Associates (Beijing) and Patton Boggs (Washington DC, now Squire Patton Boggs), respectively. Zhang is a qualified attorney in both China and the state of New York. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Maryland, an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and an LLB from China University of Political Science and Law. |
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Joe Zhou Head of Legal and Compliance Department, Compliance Director China International Capital Corporation |
WINNER
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Zeng Ni Vice President Ping An Medical and Healthcare Management |
| Having worked in the financial and medical fields for 16 years, Zeng Ni has successively served as the head of legal and compliance departments covering industries such as financial and healthcare.
Since joining PAHK in 2017, she has mainly engaged in managerial work regarding legal and compliance review, investment and financing, M&A, intellectual property protection, internal control system construction, and data security strategy deployment. During her tenure, Zeng has built and continually polished the legal and compliance control system, which is deemed to match the company’s business and management objectives, fully covering the core business sectors such as information technology, medical insurance control, hospital management, medical services, business insurance empowerment, financial leasing, medical examination, etc. Meanwhile, Zeng has led the completion of the first round of financing for the company, prompted M&A of upstream and downstream industries, effectively prevented and controlled major risks in corporate operation and internal governance, improved the quantity and quality of the company’s intellectual property protection, and managed to stabilise and effectuate data security. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Hong Yuwen General Legal Counsel China National Aviation Fuel Logistics |
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Huang Jiahui General Counsel of WeChat Tencent Technology |
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Shelly Huang Deputy General Counsel APAC, General Counsel China Kimberly-Clark China |
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Jeffrey King Chief Compliance Officer Taikang Insurance Group |
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Song Wenjun Director of Risk Management Long Investment Management |
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Bobo Xu Associate Director, Head of Legal, China Hongkong Land |
WINNER
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Danny Kan Chief Counsel (Overseas), Joint Company Secretary Ping An Insurance (Group) |
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Danny Kan is a corporate and securities lawyer experienced in a wide range of transactions, including overseas listings, equity and debt financing, private equity and M&As. In addition to corporate work, Danny manages material overseas litigations and intellectual property matters within Ping An Group. He also assists Ping An Group with its corporate governance and overseas compliance matters in his capacity as joint company secretary. Under his leadership, Danny’s team has been recognized with numerous awards. Before joining Ping An Group, Danny was a corporate counsel at Linklaters with a focus in the telecommunications, media & technology (TMT) sector, advising on some of the most high-profile and complex transactions in Asia. Danny has been driving the development of company and financial laws in the region – he is currently a member of the Company Law Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong and a fellow of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Cao Haiyang General Counsel China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment |
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Jessica Fan Principal Counsel, Asia Cognex China |
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Pan Cong General Counsel SHAREit Group |
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Pan Cong, general counsel of the ShareIt Group, is head of legal and government affairs for the company. Pan was previously head of legal at ByteDance and oversaw several key products, including TikTok and Douyin. Prior to ByteDance, Pan worked at Amazon China and Davis Polk Beijing for eight years. Pan has extensive experience of the legal aspects of technology, data governance, copyright, cross-border and oversea compliance and capital market transactions. She aims to provide practical advice that advances the interests of the business in question. Pan received her Qualification of Legal Practice in China and is licensed to practise law in New York State. |
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Wang Cheng General Counsel Express (Hangzhou) Technology |
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Karl Yeh Legal Director TCL |
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Yu Haitao General Counsel China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development |
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Shawn Yun Senior Vice President, Legal and Compliance Beijing International Resort Theme Park and Resort Management Branch |
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Joe Zhou Head of Legal and Compliance Department, Compliance Director China International Capital Corporation |
WINNER
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Luo Liuhu Data Protection Officer Beijing Kingsoft Cloud Network Technology |
| Mr. Luo Liuhu, the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of Kingsoft Cloud, is committed to building KC’s data compliance system at home and abroad to effectively protect user privacy. Luo serves as a researcher both at Ius Commune Research School in the Netherlands and at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in China. Meanwhile, he is a reviewer of the Journal of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications and a columnist of Legal Weekly. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Clauren Chou In-house Legal Counsel Huizhou Desay SV Automotive |
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Andy Li General Counsel, Compliance Officer, Company Secretary GDS |
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Aaron Shao Head of Legal, Greater China Abbott |
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Joy Zhang Group General Counsel, Group Head of Investment Chindata Group |
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Zhou Jing General Counsel Shanghai Soulgate Technology |
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Stone Zhu Senior Corporate Counsel Infosys Technologies (China) |
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Stone Zhu is the senior corporate counsel for Infosys in China, managing IT transactions and compliance for the Infosys business. Zhu has been the lead for Infosys’ legal work in China for many years and has been a board member since 2017. As a senior legal practitioner, Zhu has earned the considerable respect of sales and delivery executives in China and has received a number of Infosys awards, including the Award for Excellence awarded by the Infosys Global CEO and Best Supporting Cast awarded by the Infosys China CEO. Zhu is a law graduate of Zhejiang University and Trinity College Dublin and has been in legal practice for more than 15 years. |
WINNER
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Joe Zhou Head of Legal and Compliance Department, Compliance Director China International Capital Corporation |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Brian Chen Vice President, General Counsel, Greater China KONE Corporation |
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Gong Lin General Manager of Legal Centre A-Living Smart City Services |
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Phoebe Tang VP, General Counsel, Greater China & Oceania Danone Asia Pacific |
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Shao Li General Counsel, Company secretary Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group |
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Lisa Yang General Manager, Risk Control Department Logan Group |
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Zhao Li Vice General Manager Chenxifunds |
WINNER
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Xu Jie Chief Compliance Office & Legal Director Shanghai Junzheng Logistics |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Cao Haiyang General Counsel China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment |
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Du Jin General Counsel, Assistant President Hytera Communications |
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Karl Yeh Legal Director TCL |
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Yu Haitao General Counsel China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development |
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Zhang Hantao Deputy General Counsel, Director Harbin Electric International |
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Bill Zhou Chief Risk Officer Fullshare Holdings |
WINNER
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Bella Ju Legal Supervisor Beijing Yuanli Education Science And Technology |
| As the head of labour and employment section of Legal Yuan, Bella Ju has been leading Yuanli’s legal team in improving communication and the labour-capital relationship, against a backdrop of a series of “double reduction” policies. In order to optimise allocation of production factors, the team emphasises balancing the needs of both employee and employer, improving the corporate and personnel structure from the perspectives of cost control, employee care, public opinion influence, and stability maintenance. Ju’s team oversaw the layoffs of tens of thousands of employees, and the resolution of hundreds of labour disputes without any mass events, saving labour costs of nearly RMB10 million, while providing a full range of legal support for employment difficulties and dispute resolution in various lines of the business. In the process of corporate transformation, Ju’s team provided legal support for talent introduction, overseas employment, and domestic labour layout to explore new strategies and directions. The team is instrumental in uniting corporate and personal visions, and contributing to human effectiveness value development. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Liu Li Director of Legal Compliance Department Thunder Software Technology |
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Viola Song Legal Director KEY International Hotels Management (Kempinski Hotels China) |
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Nancy Wei Legal Director Tupperware China |
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Nancy Wei, legal director and team leader at Tupperware China, has been supporting the turnaround strategy and the strategic expansion of business in China. Wei and her team have played an important role in providing legal support for matters as diverse as business model innovation, e-commerce expansion, employment disputes, including those involving senior management, and litigation, unfair competition disputes and litigation, data privacy compliance and internal workflow optimisation. With experience gained in law firms, FMCG suppliers, retail in-house lawyer and legal department leadership roles and from company directorships, Wei excels at combining detailed legal analysis with commercial sense. She also believes in working with other divisions to find workable solutions. Wei is an active student of psychology, which has helped her to be an effective communicator and solve complex employment disputes. Wei has also been active in the in-house legal community and has given freely of her experience and knowledge at legal industry seminars and round table activities. |
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Karl Yeh Legal Director TCL |
WINNER
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Zhu Yao Senior Legal Manager Bilibili |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Joseph Chan Chief Legal Officer Yum China |
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Jasmine Chen Legal Director, China Weir Group |
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Jeffrey King Chief Compliance Officer Taikang Insurance Group |
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Liang Junhui Vice President Bosi Innovation |
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Lu Yuan IP Director Kuaishou Technology |
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Lu Yuan, who graduated from Wuhan University with a master of laws degree, has considerable management experience in the intellectual property sector. Lu successfully built legal and intellectual property teams at three companies, and led team members to establish intellectual property management systems, frameworks and procedures from scratch. Achieving these companies’ intellectual property goals, she fully protected their innovative intellectual property assets, which were the intellectual capital of each company. She thus increased the ability of each company to compete in the market, and created value for their businesses. Lu also assisted companies successfully to obtain awards such as the China Patent Award, the National Intellectual Property and Excellent Model Enterprises Awards and the Provincial Patent Invention Award. She helped in resolving key issues in intellectual property pledge financing and intellectual property disputes during listing processes. She designed protection mechanisms for major brands. Lu is listed as an expert in the expert database of the Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office and is also listed as an expert in the budget review database of the Ministry of Finance. |
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Pan Cong General Counsel SHAREit Group |
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Karl Yeh Legal Director TCL |
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Zeng Ni Vice President Ping An Medical and Healthcare Management |
WINNER
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Becky Wang Senior Brand Protection Manager, APAC S.C. Johnson & Son |
| Becky Wang’s responsibility is for intellectual property related issues for SCJ in the APAC region. These include, but are not limited to, planning IP protection strategies, bringing legal action against infringers, establishing trademark rights and copyright, dispute resolution, promoting IP awareness, researching and verifying IP ownership of specific products and developing relationships with external partners.
Wang has successfully brought a number of pioneering cases in her current position, including the seizure of infringing goods in South Africa and the subsequent pursuit of remedies in China; a successful criminal retrial case; a case where maximum damages were awarded in trademark infringement litigation; and an action in which a trade name was recognised as a well-known trademark. She was included in such prestigious award categories as the QBPC Annual Top Ten IP Protection Cases on five occasions; the China Customs Top Ten IP Protection Cases of 2017, and the Shanghai Pudong Court Top Ten IP Cases for 2021. She previously worked for SKF, being assigned to SKF headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden to take charge of global cross-border IP programmes. Wang is a member of the Parallel Import Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA). |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Irene Cheung Senior Legal Counsel Luk Fook Holdings (International) |
| Irene Cheung has been serving as the team leader of the Legal Affairs Department of Luk Fook Group since 2005. During her tenure, the group’s Legal Affairs Department has been involved in intellectual property matters of the relevant business jurisdictions of Luk Fook Group through its dedicated intellectual property task group, with strict processing procedures from the acquisition of intellectual property rights (including trademarks, copyrights and patents) to subsequent maintenance and legal rights protection, for the purposes of managing the group’s global intellectual property matters, combatting trademark infringements, etc., and effectively safeguarding the legitimate intellectual property rights of the group.
Cheung and the group’s Legal Affairs Department received accolades for their legal expertise and professionalism in the legal field of intellectual property by receiving the “2021 Winner – Intellectual Property (Trademark & Copyright)” of In-House Counsel Awards from China Business Law Journal. |
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Duan Jianhua General Counsel Kweichow Moutai (China) |
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Huang Jiahui General Counsel of WeChat Tencent Technology |
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Liu Li Director of Legal Compliance Department Thunder Software Technology |
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Ma Yihan General Counsel, Vice President Perfect World |
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Shawn Yun Senior Vice President, Legal and Compliance Beijing International Resort Theme Park and Resort Management Branch |
WINNER
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Eric Xie Vice President, Chief Legal Officer Foxconn Industrial Internet |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Chen Lei Head of Intellectual Property Beijing Yuanli Education Science And Technology |
| As the head of intellectual property for the Legal Yuan team, Chen Lei has been promoting the construction of the company’s IP management system and providing full legal support to the affirmation and protection of the company’s IP rights. For new commercial brands, the team carries out IP research and strategic layout, and sets up preeminent protection by means of trademark application, and patent exploration and setup. In terms of existing businesses, the team determines subjects to rights protection based on business needs, formulates defensive strategies, and effectively battles infringements via such means as lawyer’s letters, platform complaints, administrative complaints and civil litigation.
The legal team has also attached great importance to the accumulation and protection of the company’s intellectual property rights. In total, the team has applied for nearly 2,000 trademarks, nearly 500 copyrights and more than 200 patents. Team members have not only developed a relatively complete brand protection matrix and R&D achievement transformation mechanism, but also helped the company pass the intellectual property management system certification. Thanks to the efforts made by the entire legal team, the company was rated as a “Beijing Intellectual Property Pilot Unit” and a “Beijing Intellectual Property Demonstration Unit”. |
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Irene Cheung Senior Legal Counsel Luk Fook Holdings (International) |
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Irene Cheung has been serving as the team leader of the Legal Affairs Department of Luk Fook Group since 2005. During her tenure, the group’s Legal Affairs Department highly values the protection of intellectual property rights of Luk Fook Group, some of the litigation cases of rights protection under the supervision and acceleration of Cheung, has been ranked as Typical Cases of Trademarks in the Annual Report of the Supreme People’s Court on Intellectual Property Cases (2018), and ranked as Top Ten Typical Cases of Trademarks in 2019 by the Trademark Association of Shenzhen. Cheung and the Group’s Legal Affairs Department received accolades for their legal expertise and professionalism in the legal field of intellectual property by receiving the “2021 Winner – Intellectual Property (Trademark & Copyright)” of In-House Counsel Awards by China Business Law Journal. |
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Huang Yiyun Legal Director Autoliv |
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Li Jingjue Legal Director Huayi Brothers Media Corporation |
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Tina Liu General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer of China Sumitomo Pharma China |
| Starting her career in private practice, Tina Liu has laid a solid foundation for her credentials in legal practice through years of experience in both a red-circle and a magic-circle firm, specialising in cross-border M&A and PE/VC investment. In order to equip herself with a deeper industry insight and sharpened commercial sense, she finished her studies and obtained a Master’s degree at Washington University’s Olin Business School EMBA programme in 2019.
Since her appointment as the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, the Sumitomo Pharma China Legal Team (SMPC Legal Team) has provided a full range of professional services to the company and actively empowered the business in major commercial projects, internal systems and system development, and corporate legal training under Liu’s leadership. In 2021, she led her team to actively engage in intellectual property management and protection, leading, initiating and promoting a comprehensive patent protection programme for all the company’s products in China, including filing patent linkage litigations with generic drug producers, working closely with the IP teams of the affiliated companies in the Sumitomo Pharma Group, and making and implementing IP strategies for the patent as well as trademarks of the licensed-in products in China. In addition, she has led the team to provide IP training sessions to key business function teams in the company so as to enhance awareness regarding IP protection, including topics on China’s new Patent Law, and regulations on patent term extensions and patent linkage systems in China. Liu is now a member of the senior management team of Sumitomo Pharma China Group, and has been deeply involved in the decision making and implementation of strategies of the company. |
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Liu Zhen General Manager of Legal Department Xiaomi Corporation |
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Lu Yuping Legal Director TOTO (China) |
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Zou Jun General Manager, General Counsel Xicha (Shenzhen) Enterprise Management |
WINNER
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Liu Li Director of Legal Compliance Department Thunder Software Technology |
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Liu Li, winner of the International Compliance (Individual) award, was also highly commended for: Intellectual Property (Trademark & Copyright) (Individual); Technology & Telecoms (Individual); and for Labour & Employment (Individual). Liu is a leader on legal and compliance and at the frontier of globalisation of the enterprise. Her expertise on team building assisted with creating a team built on legal best practice that supports a large internet group of more than 100,000 employees, and is now in charge of the legal/IP/compliance team in a Sino-foreign joint venture listed company with business scope consisting of Smart IoT, Smart Vehicles and overseas expansion into more than 50 countries. She is efficient in dealing with complex trans-department problems, and has developed her team to deal with inherent complications. Her professional expertise includes, but not limited to, international trade/data compliance, IP/trademark/copyright/trade secrets, international law, labour relations, commercial litigation. She oversaw the joint M&A of two internet giants and multinational corporations, and was in charge of making contract templates that went into print for millions of copies annually. She was also in charge of building a compliance system on export control and sanctions, as well as an intellectual property management system regarding China, the US, Europe and Japan. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Cao Yiwen Associate General Counsel, Deputy General Manager of Risk Management Department China Merchants Industry |
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Cao Yiwen, who holds a PhD in International Law from Dalian Maritime University, is the deputy general counsel of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co Ltd. Cao is on the China Merchants Group Expert Committee on major, difficult and complex cases and brings to it 15 years of experience in legal compliance and risk control management for large enterprise groups. She has excellent enterprise management abilities, considerable legal knowledge and much practical experience. Cao has overseen a large number of domestic and foreign company mergers, acquisitions and restructuring and listing projects. She has wide practical experience in investment, finance and major asset transactions in the shipping and logistics sector, and enjoys an excellent reputation in the industry. Cao is the compliance officer of the first pilot enterprise of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which is responsible for the establishment of an enterprise compliance system and the prevention and control of sanctions and control risks. Cao was previously the executive director of the China Maritime Law Society and a specialist member of the maritime committee of the All China Lawyers Association. |
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Fan Lei Chief Compliance Officer Inspur Electronic Information Industry |
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Connie Kwok Senior Legal Manager JCET Global |
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Liu Zhen General Manager of Legal Department Xiaomi Corporation |
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Xu Jie Chief Compliance Office & Legal Director Shanghai Junzheng Logistics |
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Since acting as Chief Compliance Officer of Junzheng Logistics Co Ltd in 2020, Xu Jie has been leading the legal team to gradually establish a top-down comprehensive compliance system for Junzheng Group and Junzheng Logistics, covering corporate governance, international trade and sanctions compliance, anti-corruption and unfair competition, and has been continuing to promote the effective implementation of the compliance system within business management. From 2020 to 2021, the international business compliance system especially for Junzheng Logistics has been effectively implemented in more than 100 subsidiaries in dozens of countries, and in multiple business segments, e.g. the global liquid chemical fleet, and tank fleet. It has become an example and best practice in the industry. Faced with the unexpected crisis in 2020, when the US State Department issued sanctions lists for two subsidiaries of Junzheng Logistics Co Ltd, Xu and her team co-ordinated internal and external resources, and adequately used legal measures of compliance to appeal to the US. After continuous effort, the subsidiaries successfully obtained sanctions relief in 2021, at a very low legal cost and without any conditions. As the first Chinese company to apply for full and unconditional removal of the SDN List through legal compliance measures, Junzheng Logistics became a successful model recommended by the authorities to deal with trade friction. |
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Zhuang Hongzhe General Manager of Legal and Contract Department Anton Oilfield Services (Group) |
WINNER
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Allen Liang General Counsel, China Sembcorp (China) Holding |
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Allen Liang, general counsel of Sembcorp China, is in charge of legal & compliance with the Chinese environment and energy business section of Sembcorp Industries, owned by Singapore Temasek. He has many years of law practice experience in renowned Chinese domestic law firms, and legal & compliance management experience with group companies, with profound expertise in M&A, legal risk control and dispute settlement. Over the years at Sembcorp China, he has established a legal risk control system, and successfully handled many cases of dispute and administrative penalty. In 2021, he led or participated in joint team efforts securing several transactions of divestment and M&A. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Huang Jun General Manager of Legal Department (Acting) Sinar Mas Paper (China) Investment |
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Eric Xie Vice President, Chief Legal Officer Foxconn Industrial Internet |
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Bobo Xu Associate Director, Head of Legal, China Hongkong Land |
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Zhao Li Vice General Manager Chenxifunds |
WINNER
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Michael Zhang Risk and Compliance Executive Director Jinmao Capital |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Duan Yingying Legal Director Sino-Ocean Capital |
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Gao Fawei Chief Risk Officer, General Counsel China Power International |
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He Huanhao Senior Legal Counsel Tencent Holdings |
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Tina Liu General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer of China Sumitomo Pharma China |
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Starting her career in private practice, Tina Liu has laid a solid foundation for her credentials in legal practice through years of working experience in both a red-circle and a magic-circle firm, specialising in cross-border M&A and PE/VC investment. In order to equip herself with a deeper industry insight and sharpened commercial sense, she finished her studies and obtained a Master’s degree at Washington University Olin Business School EMBA programme in 2019. Since her appointment as the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Sumitomo Pharma China Legal Team (SMPC Legal Team) has provided a full range of professional services to the company and actively empowered the business in major commercial projects, internal policy and system development, and corporate legal training under Liu’s leadership. In 2021, she led her team through the whole process of a transaction in which Sumitomo Pharma Japan acquired all equity interests in five of Roivant Sciences’ subsidiaries, and subsequently acquired the equities of six additional subsidiaries for an initial payment of USD3 billion, and other collateral transaction prices. Upon closing of the deal, Sumitomo Pharma China obtained the exclusive R&D and marketing rights of several new drugs under development in territories including mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan region held by Roivant’s Chinese subsidiary. In addition, Liu and her team are also actively engaged in intellectual property management and protection, leading, initiating and promoting a comprehensive patent protection programme for all the company’s products in China in 2021. She participates in the company’s personal information protection programme, providing legal support for the company network security-level protection recognition, the gap analysis of personal information data processing, as well as related risk assessments. In the past year, she also led her team to lead and promote the launch of the company’s intelligent contract management system, and fully supported the strategical upgrade project of the company in China. Liu is now a member of the senior management team of Sumitomo Pharma China Group, and has been deeply involved in the decision making and implementation of strategies of the company. |
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Phoebe Tang VP, General Counsel, Greater China & Oceania Danone Asia Pacific |
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Margarita Yao General Cousel Trina Solar |
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Zhang Jiangbo Legal Director Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt |
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Bill Zhou Chief Risk Officer Fullshare Holdings |
WINNER
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Danny Kan Chief Counsel (Overseas), Joint Company Secretary Ping An Insurance (Group) |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Jasmine Chen Legal Director, China Weir Group |
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Jia Zheng General Counsel Beijing Yuanli Education Science And Technology |
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Jia Zheng, general counsel at Yiuanli and legal director of its Online Education Group, has 10 years of legal experience. He joined the group in 2016 and set up the legal affairs department. Jia established a work system integrating a number of practice areas, including financing, contracts, dispute resolution, labour and employment, intellectual property and data compliance. Jia has helped the company complete several rounds of financing, which raised over USD4 billion, and established an effective intellectual property management system. Amid the regulatory storm last year, Jia led the legal department in providing support for the company’s transition and the group’s redesign of domestic and overseas corporate structures. The team helped the group restructure its business services within regulatory policy restrictions, laying the groundwork for business compliance and making the company one of the first private non-profit online schools to be approved by the regulator. Jia also advised on the development of new business services, providing all-round legal compliance support to enable the company’s smooth transition. |
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Li Yupeng General Manager of Legal Department Xiamen C&D |
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Marlene Toh Counsel IBM (China) |
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Bill Zhou Chief Risk Officer Fullshare Holdings |
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Joe Zhou Head of Legal and Compliance Department, Compliance Director China International Capital Corporation |
WINNER
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Joseph Chan Chief Legal Officer Yum China |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Jessica Fan Principal Counsel, Asia Cognex China |
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Shelly Huang Deputy General Counsel APAC, General Counsel China Kimberly-Clark China |
WINNER
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Joe Zhou Head of Legal and Compliance Department, Compliance Director China International Capital Corporation |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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He Yinsheng Managing Director Sinopec Capital |
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Zhao Li Vice General Manager Chenxifunds |
WINNER
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Zhang Zuyuan General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer BAIC Motor Corporation |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Jonathan Ao Senior Legal Director Wuhan Lotus Technology |
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Clauren Chou In-house Legal Counsel Huizhou Desay SV Automotive |
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Huang Yiyun Legal Director Autoliv |
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Nie Xin General Counsel, Greater China Schaeffler Holding (China) |
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Zhang Jinsong Head of Legal & IP Centre, Assistant General Manager Chery Holding Group |
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Zhou Qi General Manager of Co-operation and Legal Department SAIC Motor |
WINNER
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Xu Jie Chief Compliance Office & Legal Director Shanghai Junzheng Logistics |
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Since acting as Chief Compliance Officer of Junzheng Logistics Co Ltd in 2020, Xu Jie has been leading the legal team to gradually establish a top-down comprehensive compliance system for Junzheng Group and Junzheng Logistics, covering corporate governance, international trade and sanctions compliance, anti-corruption and unfair competition, and has been continuing to promote the effective implementation of the compliance system within business management. From 2020 to 2021, the international business compliance system especially for Junzheng Logistics has been effectively implemented in more than 100 subsidiaries in dozens of countries, and in multiple business segments, e.g. the global liquid chemical fleet, and tank fleet. It has become an example and best practice in the industry. Faced with the unexpected crisis in 2020, when the US State Department issued sanctions lists for two subsidiaries of Junzheng Logistics Co Ltd, Xu and her team co-ordinated internal and external resources, and adequately used legal measures of compliance to appeal to the US. After continuous effort, the subsidiaries successfully obtained sanctions relief in 2021, at a very low legal cost and without any conditions. As the first Chinese company to apply for full and unconditional removal of the SDN List through legal compliance measures, Junzheng Logistics became a successful model recommended by the authorities to deal with trade friction. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Cao Yiwen Associate General Counsel, Deputy General Manager of Risk Management Department China Merchants Industry |
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Cao Yiwen, who holds a PhD in International Law from Dalian Maritime University, is the deputy general counsel of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co Ltd. Cao is on the China Merchants Group Expert Committee on major, difficult and complex cases and brings to it 15 years of experience in legal compliance and risk control management for large enterprise groups. She has excellent enterprise management abilities, considerable legal knowledge and much practical experience. Cao has overseen a large number of domestic and foreign company mergers, acquisitions and restructuring and listing projects. She has wide practical experience in investment, finance and major asset transactions in the shipping and logistics sector, and enjoys an excellent reputation in the industry. Cao is the compliance officer of the first pilot enterprise of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which is responsible for the establishment of an enterprise compliance system and the prevention and control of sanctions and control risks. Cao was previously the executive director of the China Maritime Law Society and a specialist member of the maritime committee of the All China Lawyers Association. |
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Cheng Jiejiya Deputy Manager of Audit & Legal Department Hangzhou International Airport |
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A graduate of the Tongji University Law School, Cheng Jiejiya is a corporate lawyer at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. Having handled legal matters in the civil aviation sector for eight years, Cheng has assisted the company in dealing with such challenges as aviation corridors and noise issues, joint venture co-operation with airlines, the transformation of aviation ground service business, new commercial cooperation developments, passenger and labour disputes Cheng has solid theoretical knowledge and rich business experience. |
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Hong Yuwen General Legal Counsel China National Aviation Fuel Logistics |
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Li Qiongjia Head of Legal Department Hive Box |
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Li Qiongjia is the head of the legal department at Hive Box Network Technology Co. Ltd., responsible for managing Hive Box’s six teams, corporate compliance; company matters; contract management; investment; finance, litigation and disputes; and intellectual property. Li has over 13 years of legal and risk control experience. He was involved in the Haier small and micro incubation programme, the Country Garden Overseas employee stock ownership practice, and Fosun Global’s FC2M integration and optimisation. He aims to make corporate legal affairs not merely a self-contained specialist department, but a valued contributor to the company’s global expansion. Before joining Hive Box, he served as the managing director of Fosun Hive, and the regional assistant president and head of overseas legal affairs of the Country Garden Group. Li has also worked as the legal director of Haier International Trading Company, and the legal director of Haier Group in Europe and South Asia. |
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Sun Chuntao Director of Legal Department, Policy and Regulation China State Shipbuilding Corporation |
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Fiona Sun Senior Legal Counsel Minsheng Financial Leasing |
| Fiona Sun is a senior legal counsel at Minsheng Financial Leasing. Sun graduated from the University of Hong Kong and Northwestern University in the US, and received a certificate of business administration from Kellogg School of Management. She is qualified in China and New York state, US. Prior to joining Minsheng Financial Leasing, Sun was a senior associate at Clyde & Co’s Hong Kong office, and also worked in the Hong Kong office of two leading US law firms. She advised both multinational and Chinese clients in cross-border transactions involving a broad range of industries, such as telecoms, energy and retail. In Minsheng Financing Leasing, Sun’s practice focuses primarily on aviation transaction and financing. She has extensive experience in cross-border aircraft transactions, financing, and overseas compliance. |
WINNER
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Chen Jun Legal Director China Minsheng Bank |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Fan Linna Deputy Head of Shipping Finance, General Counsel of Shipping Finance Bank of Communications Financial Leasing |
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Philip Ng Head of Legal and Compliance CMB International Capital Corporation |
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Yu Shixuan Responsible Officer of Legal and Compliance Division CCB International (China) |
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Frances Zhang Senior Legal Counsel HSBC Bank (China) |
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Danny Kan Chief Counsel (Overseas), Joint Company Secretary Ping An Insurance (Group) |
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Wang Cheng General Counsel Express (Hangzhou) Technology |
WINNER
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Qin Jian Vice President, General Counsel Alibaba Cloud |
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Qin Jian is Vice President and General Counsel responsible for legal affairs at Alibaba Cloud, DingTalk and Intelligent Connectivity. He also serves as a part-time tutor of Peking University Law School, where he graduated, and is a part-time associate professor at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications; a deputy leader of the intellectual property working group at China’s Artificial Intelligence Development Alliance; vice chairman of the China Intellectual Property Committee at the International Chamber of Commerce; and a distinguished expert at the Beijing Network Information Office. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Fan Lei Chief Compliance Officer Inspur Electronic Information Industry |
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Luo Liuhu Data Protection Officer Beijing Kingsoft Cloud Network Technology |
| Luo Liuhu is Data Protection Officer at Kingsoft Cloud, committed to building its data compliance system at home and abroad to effectively protect user privacy. He also serves as a researcher at Ius Commune Research School in the Netherlands, and at Southwest University of Political Science and Law in China. Additionally, he is a reviewer of the Journal of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications and a columnist of Legal Weekly. |
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Wang Yihan Senior In-house Counsel Linklogis |
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Stone Zhu Senior Corporate Counsel Infosys Technologies (China) |
WINNER
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Zhang Hantao Deputy General Counsel, Director Harbin Electric International |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Guo Yanxiong Legal Director CITIC Construction |
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Li Linwei Deputy Director of Legal Affairs Department China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute |
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Tian Changqi General Counsel Guangdong Water |
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Wu Yuyang Senior Manager China Railway Group |
WINNER
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Irene Cheung Senior Legal Counsel Luk Fook Holdings (International) |
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Irene Cheung received her BA from the University of Toronto and her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School. Cheung was qualified as a solicitor, barrister and notary public in Ontario, Canada, and she is currently a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Senior Legal Counsel of Luk Fook Holdings (International) Limited and the Managing Director of 3DG Jewellery. The Legal Affairs Department of Luk Fook Group is composed of legal teams from mainland China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is mainly engaged in providing legal advice to the group, managing global intellectual property affairs, and administering legal and transactional documentation. In recognition of her outstanding leadership skills and excellent career achievements, Cheung was awarded the “Women of Excellence 2019” by JESSICA, a leading women’s magazine, and “The Awards of Women of Times 2019” by InStyle, an international fashion magazine. Cheung also received accolades for her legal expertise and leadership in the legal field by receiving the “2020 Highly Commended – Consumer & Retail” of In-House Counsel Awards published by China Business Law Journal. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Shelly Huang Deputy General Counsel APAC, General Counsel China Kimberly-Clark China |
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Jiang Ying Legal Director LEGO Group |
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Li Yating In-house Legal Counsel Cowell Health Group |
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Lillian Lu Vice President, Associate General Counsel Tapestry Greater China |
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Lillian Lu received her Bachelor of Law and Master of Law degrees from Fudan University, and further graduated from the Southern Methodist University in the USA with a Master of Law degree as a Sohmen Scholar. Lu began her legal career at DLA Piper, a leading international law firm, and over the course of more than 10 years served as head of the legal department of several multinational companies. Since 2012, Lu has been head of the legal department of Coach Greater China, later relaunched as Tapestry Greater China and which includes the Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman brands. She has built up a high-performing legal and compliance team covering all aspects of services including commercial, legal, compliance and governance, data privacy and intellectual property protection, and supporting the group’s business units across the region. In her role with the group over the past decade, Lu has witnessed its business flourish in Greater China. |
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Phoebe Tang VP, General Counsel, Greater China & Oceania Danone Asia Pacific |
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Becky Wang Senior Brand Protection Manager, APAC S.C. Johnson & Son |
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Nancy Wei Legal Director Tupperware China |
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Nancy Wei, legal director and team leader at Tupperware China, has been supporting the turnaround strategy and the strategic expansion of business in China. Wei and her team have played an important role in providing legal support for matters as diverse as business model innovation, e-commerce expansion, employment disputes, including those involving senior management, and litigation, unfair competition disputes and litigation, data privacy compliance and internal workflow optimisation. With experience gained in law firms, FMCG suppliers, retail in-house lawyer and legal department leadership roles and from company directorships, Wei excels at combining detailed legal analysis with commercial sense. She also believes in working with other divisions to find workable solutions. Wei is an active student of psychology, which has helped her to be an effective communicator and solve complex employment disputes. Wei has also been active in the in-house legal community and has given freely of her experience and knowledge at legal industry seminars and round table activities. |
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Zhou Yongxin Legal Director Beijing Xiaoguan Cha |
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Zhou Yongxin is the general manager, service division of Beijing Xiaoguan Tea Co. Ltd. Zhou is responsible for such matters as the company’s legal affairs, intellectual property rights, government relations and information management. Graduating from the Department of Materials Science, Beijing University of Technology with a master’s degree, Zhou previously worked for the China Consumer Safety Group and for the German Renolit Medical Company, Beijing, responsible for intellectual property rights and legal affairs. |
WINNER
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Feng Dongmei Legal Manager Beijing Yuanli Education Science And Technology |
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Beijing Yuanli’s legal team, Legal YUAN, of which Feng Dongmei is a part, was established in 2016. It has supported the company to complete several rounds of financing worth more than USD4 billion. In line with the idea of integrated compliance, Legal YUAN, as a “hub” of Beijing Yuanli’s operation, has become a co-ordinator for all business among various functional departments, as well as establishing and constantly improving the company’s compliance system. Furthermore, the team has actively communicate and co-operated with business departments, and provided practical results and professional legal advice of different dimensions in making business decisions, and bringing compliance guarantee and a sense of security in the company’s rapid business development process. Despite last year’s regulatory storm, and the sharp reduction of staffing of the company, from 80,000 to less than 20,000, Feng’s legal team withstood the pressure, contributed to the personnel optimisation of business units with in-depth participation in plan making, policy promotion and dismissal negotiations, and settled more than 100 cases of labour disputes arising from this, which saved or avoided economic losses of nearly RMB10 million for the company. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Guan Rui Legal Head New Oriental Education & Technology Group |
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Guan Rui is the party secretary and general manager of the legal department of the New Oriental Education and Technology Group. She graduated from the Graduate School of China University of Political Science and Law with a master’s degree in Civil and Commercial Law and received a master’s degree in management from the Central University of Finance and Economics. Since joining New Oriental in 2008, Guan has been responsible for legal management. She has been recognised as a March 8 Red Banner Pacesetter of Haidian District, given the Elite Legal Award of the Year, and Education – Excellence Legal Award of the Year in 2020 by the China Business Law Journal, and was recognised by ALB China as one of the Top 15 General Counsel in 2021. The legal department of New Oriental under Guan won the 2020 China Business Law Journal Education – Outstanding Legal Team Award and has won the Outstanding Team award of New Oriental on many occasions. |
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Emilie Niu General Counsel Education In Motion |
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Carrie Tang Legal Vice President, Greater China & India Hub & MEA Pearson |
| Carrie Tang, legal vice president at Pearson Education Asia, is responsible for legal for Greater China, India Hub, Middle East and Africa. Carrie Tang has abundant management experience, profound legal accomplishments as well as rich company inhouse legal experience across multiple jurisdictions. Tang leads the legal department in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, India Hub, the Middle East and Africa and has provided legal support on the company’s major projects, participated in critical business decision-making, and paid special attention to intellectual property protection, compliance, data security and contract management. She also led the team in winning multiple awards. Several cases led by her have been successively selected into Typical Cases of National Copyright Administration of China and Court at two levels. |
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Grace Wu General Counsel Brightscholar Education Group |
WINNER
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Karl Yeh Legal Director TCL |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Robinson Cheng General Counsel Anker Innovations Technology Corporation |
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Robinson Cheng, the former general counsel and chief compliance officer of the ZTE Corporation, is the General Counsel of Anker Innovations Technology Co. Cheng has practised corporate law for over 10 years, leading his teams to deal successfully with challenges such as major domestic and international intellectual property disputes, compliance issues and litigation. He has helped organise the company’s operations to preserve value and overtake the competition. He has considerable experience in the construction and development of intellectual property rights (IPR) systems for Chinese enterprises, company compliance with overseas IP requirements, overseas protection for brand innovation and brand development and IPR. In 2021, in a complex and challenging international political and economic environment, Cheng led the team that successfully responded to a US section 337 investigation. He also dealt with a number of major cases in the area of intellectual property and compliance, providing effective legal protection and helping the company’s steady development. |
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Feng Liqiong Chief Legal Officer BOE Technology Group |
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Liu Zhen General Manager of Legal Department Xiaomi Corporation |
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John Yang Associate Director, IP Carrier Global Corporation |
WINNER
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Cao Haiyang General Counsel China Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Gao Fawei Chief Risk Officer, General Counsel China Power International |
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Li Linwei Deputy Director of Legal Affairs Department China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute |
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Wang Xiaojing Legal Adviser China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) |
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Xu Qiqi Deputy Director of Legal Compliance Department (Office of the board of directors), Director of Legal Service Shared Centre Shanghai Electric Power |
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Yu Haitao General Counsel China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development |
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Yu Haitao, General Counsel of CNODC, leads his legal team in establishing a comprehensive high-level international compliance management and risk prevention system with professional, extensive front-line experience, practicability and high efficiency. Yu leads his team in constantly providing legal support for the resolution of major disputes, the development of CNODC’s business, the promotion of legal campaigns and education, as well as the construction of professional legal teams with a focus on “stringent compliance management, strong risk prevention, stable business assurance and steady team-building”. Over the years, under Yu’s strong leadership, the CNODC legal team has striven to promote the reform and development of the company and delivered comprehensive and consistent support to major dispute settlement, overseas M&A and project operation, aiming to contribute legal assistance to parent company CNPC’s business in core resource countries worldwide, and playing an important role in ensuring China’s national energy security. |
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Zhang Jiangbo Legal Director Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt |
WINNER
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Margarita Yao General Cousel Trina Solar |
| Margarita Yao has 20 years of professional experience from a decade at a top-rated law firm and a second decade in the solar sector. Recognised among Asia’s top 15 in-house counsel by Asia Business Law Journal, she has a Bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and a post-graduate JD doctorate in law. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Hannah Cao General Counsel Silkroad Fund |
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Allen Liang General Counsel, China Sembcorp (China) Holding |
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Shao Li General Counsel, Company secretary Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group |
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Yan Hao General Manager of Legal Department GCL Energy Technology |
WINNER
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Joseph Chan Chief Legal Officer Yum China |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Phoebe Tang VP, General Counsel, Greater China & Oceania Danone Asia Pacific |
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Duan Jianhua General Counsel Kweichow Moutai (China) |
WINNER
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Aaron Shao Head of Legal, Greater China Abbott |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Chen Ji Vice President, Legal and Compliance LianBio |
| Chen Ji is the VP of legal and compliance at LianBio (Nasdaq: Lian) covering the China and APAC areas.
She focuses on cross-border M&A, joint ventures, licensing and compliance in life sciences. She joined LianBio in April 2021 and assisted the company in completing a number of licensing transactions and launching its IPO on Nasdaq. Before joining LianBio, Chen was a corporate lawyer in the Shanghai Offices of Ropes & Gray and Linklaters, responsible for handling transactions including cross-border M&A, debt and equity financing and licensing transactions. |
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Henry He Board Secretary, Head of Legal CStone Pharmaceuticals |
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Richard Li Chief Legal Officer I-Mab Biopharma |
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As I-Mab’s Chief Legal Officer, Richard Li leads the Legal Department and is in charge of the company’s legal affairs, including capital markets, intellectual property, clinical operations, corporate transactions, and US operations. He provides critical legal guidance and strategic solutions to support the company’s business growth. Li is an experienced life sciences attorney with over 12 years’ experience. Prior to joining I-Mab, he was an of counsel at Covington & Burling LLP, a top US law firm, leading the firm’s China life sciences transaction practice. Prior to that, Li served as the head of legal of 6 Dimensions Capital, a leading life sciences venture capital firm. Earlier in his career, he was a corporate attorney at Hogan Lovells International LLP, a leading international law firm. Li received his bachelor’s degree in law and master’s degree in international law from Sun Yat-sen University, and an LL.M. degree from Columbia Law School. |
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Li Yating In-house Legal Counsel Cowell Health Group |
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Li Yating is legal counsel in the headquarters of the Cowell Health Group. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law from Sichuan University, and holds a Chinese Mainland Lawyer Practice Certificate. Prior to joining Cowell Health Group, Li worked at King & Wood Mallesons law firm, and focused on IPOs in the areas of FMCG, retail and telecommunication engineering. At Cowell Health Group, she is responsible for the business of acquisition in the pharmaceutical sector, as well as post-investment management, dispute resolution, new retail, internet medical innovation business and data security compliance management. Li has extensive experience in investment and financing, post-investment management and business compliance management in the pharmaceutical sector. |
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Tina Liu General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer of China Sumitomo Pharma China |
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Starting her career in private practice, Tina Liu has laid a solid foundation for her credentials in legal practice through years of experience in both a red-circle and a magic-circle firm, specialising in cross-border M&A and PE/VC investment. In order to equip herself with a deeper industry insight and sharpened commercial sense, she finished her studies and obtained a Master’s degree in Washington University’s Olin Business School EMBA programme in 2019. Since her appointment as General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, the Sumitomo Pharma China Legal Team (SMPC Legal Team) has provided a full range of professional services to the company and actively empowered the business in major commercial projects, internal policy and system development, and corporate legal training under Liu’s leadership. In 2021, she led her team helping Sumitomo Pharma China and Profex Group to reach their first strategic partnership. In that project, Sumitomo Pharma China and Profex Group worked together on promoting Sumitomo’s central nervous drugs in the Chinese market. With extensive experience of drug R&D and commercialisation of the two companies, the central nervous system drugs have been greatly recognised and promoted in China domestically, better benefiting Chinese general patients suffering from neurological diseases. In this process, the legal team provided support by advising on the design of the transaction structure, analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the transaction model, due diligence, negotiation of the transaction documents, and implementation after project delivery. In addition, she led her team to participate in the whole process of the transaction, in which Sumitomo Pharma Japan acquired all equity interests in five of Roivant Sciences’ subsidiaries and subsequently acquired the equities of six additional subsidiaries for an initial payment of USD3 billion and other collateral transaction prices. Upon closing of the deal, Sumitomo Pharma China had obtained the exclusive R&D and marketing rights of several new drugs under development in mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan region held by Roivant’s Chinese subsidiary. In the past year, Liu and her team have been actively engaged in intellectual property management and protection, and fully supported the structure upgrade project of the company in China. Liu is now a member of the senior management team of Sumitomo Pharma China Group, and has been deeply involved in the decision making and implementation of strategies of the company. |
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Lucy Hu Head of Legal, Greater China Carl Zeiss (Shanghai) |
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Xu Qian Deputy General Manager, General Counsel, Secretary of the Board BGI Genomics |
| Xu Qian is deputy general manager, secretary of the board and general counsel of BGI Genomics (stock code 300676)
Xu has expertise in M&A, corporate governance, security investment and medical compliance. She has been recognised as a Top 15 General Council of China by ALB, received in-house counsel awards from the China Business Law Journal and placed in the Top 10 General Council of China by Chief Legal Officer. Xu won the Golden Board Secretary award from New Fortune, the Outstanding Board Secretary for IPOs award from the Chinese Securities Journal, and the Best Board Secretary of Listed Companies award from the Economic Observer. Xu is an arbitrator approved by CIETAC and SCIA, and has been invited to speak at major international and national forums. |
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Zeng Ni Vice President Ping An Medical and Healthcare Management |
WINNER
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Eric Xie Vice President, Chief Legal Officer Foxconn Industrial Internet |
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Xie Chenyang is Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Foxconn Industrial Internet Corporation, in charge of legal, intellectual property, compliance and risk control. With a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree from Pennsylvania State University, he is ranked on Legal 500’s GC Powerlist of the world’s most influential in-house general counsel in business today. Among prestigious affiliations, Xie is a member of the ICC Arbitration Committee and Energy and Environment Committee, and expert on the ICC Climate Change Dispute Task Force. He is also: director of the China Securities Law Research Association; director of the China Trademark Association; deputy director of the International Investment and Trade Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association; and arbitrator of both the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration and Tianjin Arbitration Commission. A part-time researcher at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, he has additionally served as vice-chairman of the China Patent Protection Association. Xie is the author of two books: The Legal Regime of Chinese Overseas Investment; and The Belt and Road: Case Studies & Risk Management. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Brian Chen Vice President, General Counsel, Greater China KONE Corporation |
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Huang Jun General Manager of Legal Department (Acting) Sinar Mas Paper (China) Investment |
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Tony Dong General Counsel, Compliance Officer, Greater China Festo (China) |
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Herbert He IP Manager Oerlikon |
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Herbert He is responsible for IP matters for Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solution Division in the Greater China Region. He focuses on IP infringement, IP exploration, inventor incentives, freedom to operate (FTO) analysis and competitor monitoring. With the local Chinese market becoming more influential, and while the HQ-centralised IP management system is being developed, he promotes a co-operative and inclusive communication environment encompassing local and global IP management. This ensures that, when it comes to understanding company-wide IP matters, everyone is on the same page. |
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Polly Zhang Head of China Legal MAHLE Holding (China) |
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Thomas Zhao Vice President, Legal and Compliance SKF |
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Zheng Wei General Counsel CRRC Zhuzhou Institute |
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Nie Xin General Counsel, Greater China Schaeffler Holding (China) |
WINNER
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Jeffrey King Chief Compliance Officer Taikang Insurance Group |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Natalie Li Legal Counsel Ping An Group |
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Li Yu Corporation Lawyer Zhonghai Trust |
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Betty Xiang PE General Counsel Ping An Trust |
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Yuan Ye General Manager of Legal and Compliance Department China Pacific Insurance (Group) |
WINNER
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Andy Li General Counsel, Compliance Officer, Company Secretary GDS |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Chen Yan Vice President, General Counsel, Head of Group Legal Centre KE Holdings |
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Chen Yan is the vice president, general counsel and head of the group legal department of KE Holdings. Before joining, Chen was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, focusing on corporate law, private equity, investment, financing and capital markets, and is experienced in initial public offerings, listing compliance, private equity and M&A transactions. Chen graduated from Renmin University in China and Cornell University in the US, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College, where he was named to the Dean’s List as a graduate scholar. Chen led the legal team to complete KE Holdings’ red-chip restructuring in 2018, its private placement in 2019, and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020. He led the legal team in winning a number of awards, including being highly recommended in the data protection (team) category by China Business Law Journal in 2019 and 2020 and being included in ALB China top 15 in-house teams in 2020. Chen was also named in the General Counsel Profiles 2021. |
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He Huanhao Senior Legal Counsel Tencent Holdings |
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Faye Xu Legal Director GOGOX |
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Ma Lan General Counsel Qi-Anxin Technology Group |
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Marlene Toh Counsel IBM (China) |
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Marlene Toh is counsel at IBM China, specialising in Chinese cloud computing, cybersecurity, data and privacy laws. Toh has been the lead lawyer for various strategic partnerships in cloud landing in China and has helped foreign-invested companies establish compliant business models for cloud services in China. She led IBM China’s regulatory compliance with the PRC’s new cybersecurity, data security and privacy laws. Toh was also the head lawyer in IBM’s managed infrastructure services spin-off in 2021, in which she advised on complex legal issues relating to company law, contract law, and regulatory compliance. Toh holds an LL.B from Tsinghua University and an LL.M from UC Berkeley. She also has extensive cross-region working experiences in the APAC region. |
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Joy Zhang Group General Counsel, Group Head of Investment Chindata Group |
WINNER
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Shawn Yun Senior Vice President, Legal and Compliance Beijing International Resort Theme Park and Resort Management Branch |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Chen Lumin Legal Director Bilibili |
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Helen Gu Haiyan General Manager, Legal Department Sina Corporation |
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Helen Gu Haiyan is General Counsel of the legal department and President of the Judicial Research Institute of SINA Group, embracing the business of SINA Mobile, finance and economics, games, and Weibo, a Nasdaq-listed company and the world’s largest Chinese social media platform, with more than 600 million online users. The legal department advises primarily on legal matters and transactions such as M&A, investment, listing, litigation, disputes, IP rights (trademarks, domain names, patents and software), contract review, local network management, company licence and qualification, internet finance, government relations and policy research. Her professional affiliations include: Executive Director of the Internet and Information Law Association of China Law Society; Deputy Director of the Intellectual Property Association of the Internet Society of China; and International Expert Advisory Committee member of the UN Commission on International Trade Law. She is also: a part-time tutor of e-commerce law at Peking University’s School of Law; a Legal Advisory Committee member of the China Advertising Association; an Internet Rule of Law Working Committee member of the Internet Society of China; and an arbitrator at CIETAC, Beijing International Arbitration Centre, Qingdao Arbitration Commission, and Langfang Arbitration Commission. Gu has a Master’s degree from China University of Political Science and Law, majoring in civil and commercial law, and a Master’s from the University of International Business and Economics, majoring in international economic law. |
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He Huanhao Senior Legal Counsel Tencent Holdings |
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Li Jingjue Legal Director Huayi Brothers Media |
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Li Jingjue has more than a decade of profound legal experience in the film, TV and entertainment industry. She provides legal solutions to Huayi Brothers Corporation and its affiliates worldwide across a broad range of the pan-entertainment industry, including investment and financing, production, advertising and distribution, derivative products, theme parks and capital market in the film and TV industry. A specialist in providing legal solutions on film and TV works, she is known for her profound legal knowledge and practice experience, representing Huayi Brothers in film investment and financing, production, advertising and distribution matters. As team leader, Li takes positive steps to optimise the function of the legal team in the face of downturn in the industry, and has contributed to improving the pre-risk assessment mechanism for film and TV projects, participating in complex disputes resolution in arbitration and litigation, and promoting talent optimisation to create great value for the company. |
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Li Meng General Legal Counsel Taou Group |
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Flower Yang Chief Legal Officer, Centre of Intellectual Property and Legal Affairs General Manager Future TV |
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Zhou Jing General Counsel Shanghai Soulgate Technology |
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Jiang Ying Legal Director LEGO Group |
WINNER
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Ma Yihan General Counsel, Vice President Perfect World |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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He Huanhao Senior Legal Counsel Tencent Holdings |
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Liu Shen Board Secretary Diretor of Compliance and Securities Divison Beijing Elex Technology |
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Liu Shen is the board secretary and leader of the Compliance and Securities Division of Beijing Elex Technology Co Ltd, not only a state-owned holding game company but also a listed company on the new Third Board. To balance strict state-owned financial supervision and highly competitive market forces, she is committed to establishing an integrated and effective company compliance and risk control system, so that the business and compliance divisions promote each other. In response to increasingly complex and ever-changing external compliance requirements, Liu has led the compliance team in offering complete and timely solutions to the company’s various business divisions and helping those divisions make decisions based on reasonable business module systems and process frameworks. |
WINNER
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Song Wenjun Director of Risk Management Long Investment Management |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Duan Yingying Legal Director Sino-Ocean Capital |
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Gao Yuan General Counsel Lingfeng Capital |
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Mou Nan Legal and Compliance Senior Manager Yangtze Green Fund |
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Mu Xiaoqing General Counsel BAIC Capital |
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Andrew Ning Head of Legal and Compliance Greater Bay Area Homeland Investments |
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Wu Nanxi Executive Director GP Innovation Capital |
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Michael Zhang Risk and Compliance Executive Director Jinmao Capital |
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Zhang Xi Senior Legal Counsel Qiming Venture Partners |
WINNER
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Bobo Xu Associate Director, Head of Legal, China Hongkong Land |
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Bobo Xu, associate director and head of legal, China at the Hongkong Land Group, leads the legal team in providing full legal services for the whole lifecycle of the group’s real estate projects in mainland China. Focused on the group’s strategic and developmental targets, the legal team navigates the group though the legal terrain while ensuring profit maximisation. The team holds to the tenet of “propelling the business, preventing risks, boosting efficiency and solving the problems”, and is always on the front line to address all issues with legal professionalism and acute business awareness. The team fully uses the resources of outside law firms in order to deliver high-quality results. It is dedicated to the inclusive and well-rounded development of the group. Xu takes the lead in sustainability projects for Hongkong Land Group in mainland China. |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Ding Zhaohui Director of Legal Risk Control Department CIFI Holdings (Group) |
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Gong Lin General Manager of Legal Centre A-Living Smart City Services |
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Li Ying Legal Director CIFI Ever Sunshine Services Group |
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Liu Hongxuan Legal Director Zhengrong Real Estate Nanjing Regional Company |
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Liu Zhong General Counsel China Resources Land |
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Lisa Yang General Manager, Risk Control Department Logan Group |
WINNER
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Du Jin General Counsel, Assistant President Hytera Communications |
HIGHLY COMMENDED
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Chen Yadu Legal Director Yang River Delta Investment (Shanghai) |
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Jessica Fan Principal Counsel, Asia Cognex China |
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Kevin Ke Director, General Counsel Chipsea Technologies (Shenzhen) |
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Connie Kwok Senior Legal Manager JCET Global |
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Liu Li Director of Legal Compliance Department Thunder Software Technology |
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Wu Dianqing Senior Legal Director Fibocom Wireless |
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Zhang Wang Vice President, General Counsel SenseTime Group |
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Zhang Wang serves as the Vice President of SenseTime and is responsible for legal affairs, intellectual property and standardisation. He is also the Chairman of the AI Ethics and Governance Committee of SenseTime Group. Prior to joining SenseTime, Zhang was Deputy General Counsel of Nestle Greater China Region, and General Counsel of Otis Elevator North Asia-Pacific Area for more than a decade. Previously he was a practising lawyer at Jingtian & Associates (Beijing) and Patton Boggs (Washington DC, now Squire Patton Boggs), respectively. Zhang is a qualified attorney in both China and the state of New York. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Maryland, an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, and an LLB from China University of Political Science and Law. |
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Zhu Jiang Legal Compliance Principal Minsheng Fintech |
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Jasmine Chen Legal Director, China Weir Group |
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Clauren Chou In-house Legal Counsel Huizhou Desay SV Automotive |
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Fan Lei Chief Compliance Officer Inspur Electronic Information Industry |
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Connie Kwok Senior Legal Manager JCET Global |
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Connie Kwok is the senior legal manager of the JCET Group of companies. She has more than seven years of experience in providing legal services for leading multinational companies and has in-depth experience in compliance, export controls and foreign-related international legal affairs. Kwok helped the group to establish its export controls and compliance programmes. She was responsible for assessing the compliance risks for the company’s business to ensure the group complies with all applicable laws and regulations in a number of jurisdictions, including China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Kwok holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from the Fudan University School of Law and an LL.M degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is licensed to practice law both in China and in the state of New York in the US. |
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Li Linwei Deputy Director of Legal Affairs Department China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute |
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Li Linwei is Deputy Director of the Legal Department of China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute Co Ltd, and has extensive experience in a number of fields such as engineering design, project management, administration and legal matters. Drawing on that practical experience, she has ensured that legal work is tightly integrated into business development. In recent years, Li has provided legal advice to top-level management, established a high-standard compliance management system and a whole-process legal support system and improved the contract management system. Benefitting from her organisational and leadership skills, legal department members successfully resolved many legal disputes. Li believes that risk control should focus on the prevention of risks and in-process control. She has herself reviewed nearly 5,000 construction project contracts and resolved a considerable number of disputes involving contract performance. Li holds the Legal Professional Qualification Certificate, the Lawyer’s Certificate, the Registered Constructor Qualification Certificate and is a Certified Project Manager, a qualification of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). |
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Natalie Li Legal Counsel Ping An Group |
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Natalie Li is a senior lawyer, and has advised on some of the most high-profile, innovative, complex and award-winning transactions in Hong Kong. She has advised listed companies and multinationals in matters ranging from data protection, capital market transactions, debt restructuring, M&A and Listing Rules compliance. She spearheads the development of Regtech solutions. Before joining the Ping An Group, she practised at leading international law firms and a Red Circle firm. Natalie has been a finalist in the Young In-House Lawyer of the Year category in a highly prestigious law award competition in Asia. |
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He Huanhao Senior Legal Counsel Tencent Holdings |
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Mou Nan Legal and Compliance Senior Manager Yangtze Green Fund |
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Wang Xiaojing Legal Adviser China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) |
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Wang Yihan Senior In-house Counsel Linklogis |
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Grace Wu General Counsel Brightscholar Education Group |
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Grace Wu has over 15 years of experience in the legal profession and is currently responsible for in-house legal matters, internal audit and control at Bright Scholar Education Group, the largest K-12 education group in China. Wu’s extensive legal skills, commercial sense, flexibility and positive coaching style of leadership have enabled her team to provide solid support for compliance planning and helped the effective development of the group’s business. Before joining Bright Scholar, Wu worked at King & Wood Mallesons, Lonza and the Plateno Group. She believes the core value of an in-house lawyer is to explore and devise compliance solutions so that the company may realise its business value and implement its development plans. |
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Frances Zhang Senior Legal Counsel HSBC Bank (China) |
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Frances Zhang is a Senior Legal Counsel at HSBC China, expert in securities and fund services, custody and settlement, and cross-border asset management. With over 10 years’ working experience, her involvement has included extensive legal negotiations with a wide variety of well-known domestic and foreign financial institutions, sovereign entities and regulated funds. She offers practical solutions to the bank to navigate regulatory changes and product expansion. Recently, she was one of the team providing legal support to complete first-of-a-kind transactions in the market. Zhang is also closely working with global and regional colleagues under a diversified corporate culture. Before joining HSBC, she worked at King & Wood Mallesons, focusing on banking and finance. She has a Bachelor of Laws degree from East China University of Political Science and Law, and a Master’s degree from Washington University in the US. She is now a candidate for a doctorate in business management from a European University. |
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Zhou Jing General Counsel Shanghai Soulgate Technology |
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Zhu Yao Senior Legal Manager Bilibili |
