Brian Wong
President, Global Initiatives, Alibaba Group Member, Alibaba Academic Council
Mr. Brian Wong is an internet executive with over 20 years of management experience in e-commerce and digital media in Greater China, SE Asia, India, the US and Europe. He is an investor in start-up ventures and recently retired from Alibaba where he served as Special Assistant to the Chairman (Jack Ma) and as the Executive Director of the Alibaba Global Leadership Academy (AGLA). His 15-year career at Alibaba included leading the company's global sales, marketing, and business development operations, and spearheading Alibaba.com's international expansion.
In previous roles, Brian has held executive positions at the McGraw-Hill Companies and served as Special Assistant to Mayor Willie L. Brown of San Francisco. He is also Founder and Chairman of the digital media platform RADII (www.radiichina.com), an initiative dedicated to bridging understanding between China and the world. Brian has been an advisor to various governments on e-commerce strategies and has been featured as a speaker at international conferences including the World Economic Forum at Davos, the B20, the ASEAN World Economic Forum, and the UNCTAD E-commerce Week. He has been an advisor on CNBC’s TV series "Pop-up Start-up" and a technical consultant for the HBO television series "Silicon Valley".
Brian holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College, and M.A. from the Johns Hopkins (SAIS)-Nanjing Center, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Swarthmore College Council on Presidential Initiatives, a former member of the Wharton School Alumni Board, and has been a director of the 1990 Institute for 6 years. Brian was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is a China Fellow with the Aspen Institute.