Brian Wong
The first American to join Alibaba
Wong was the first American – and 52nd employee – to join the Alibaba Group. He was vice president of Global Initiatives at Alibaba Group and a member of the Alibaba Academic Committee, and is also the Founder and Chairman of RADII Media.
As Jack Ma’s special assistant for international affairs, Wong contributed to the early globalisation efforts of the Alibaba Group.
During his sixteen-years with the Chinese business, Wong established the Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) division. The AGI mission is to share the positive impact of the new business paradigm in promoting inclusive development and to inspire and empower entrepreneurs, youth and women.
He remains an adviser to the AGI team and regularly teaches courses on China’s digital economy and the Tao of Alibaba management principles. He was also the founder and executive director of the Alibaba Global Leadership Academy.
He is also founder and chairman of Shanghai-based RADII (an independent platform of artists, writers and creators dedicated to sharing vibrant stories from the rarely explored sides of Chinese youth culture).
In his book, The Tao of Alibaba, Wong articulates the “secret sauce” behind the success of Chinese tech giant, Alibaba, and provides invaluable management insights into how to empower employees, tackle digital disruption, and create true impact.
A blueprint for how to build a mission-driven organization, The Tao of Alibaba demonstrates how to align an organization’s capabilities with performance-maximizing tools but also teaches the pursuit of greater purpose and meaning, and how entrepreneurs can steer their ventures towards having lasting and profound impact on their communities.
In this video he shares how Alibaba has navigated tough times and highlights how the company’s management principles can provide a business and economic development model for international companies doing business with China: