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Event recap · GBI Forum

Shanghai

June 27, 2026

Shanghai Institute of Innovation & Creative Design (former Lester Institute of Technology), 505 Dongchangzhi Rd, Hongkou

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June 27Shanghai

Our largest edition yet: seven panels and three keynotes on how Chinese brands land in North America — from AI-driven consumer insight and retail channels to F&B localization, building-materials supply chains, cross-border law and growth marketing.

43

Speakers

7

Panels

3

Keynotes

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Programme

On stage.

  1. Opening

    Welcome remarks

    • Kathy Wang

      CEO, Broadar (host)

    • Joseph G. Rios, PhD

      Founder & CEO, Dakodit (host)

  2. Panel · 01

    AI-driven consumer insight, social seeding & creative for global brands

    • Nemo WangModerator

      Founder & CEO, ICEWHALE

      Serial founder; former lead designer of QQ for Mac and co-founder of Gaoding Design, used by 200M people worldwide.

    • Dali Ma

      Founder & President, Truly Yours Inc.

      Works at the intersection of AI, business and creativity; Oxford physics & philosophy scholar.

    • Crystal Pang

      Head of Global Business Solutions (Europe & North America), Xiaohongshu (RED)

      Bridges international brands with RED's 350M+ lifestyle users; led partnerships with the British Museum and MFA Boston.

    • Owen Zhong

      Founder & CEO, Rapisight

      Former Salesforce and Pony.ai engineer, founding engineer at Facebook, engineering lead at Zora Labs.

    • Donly Li

      President, Hangzhou Tekan Technology

      15 years in e-commerce and SaaS; former marketing VP at Gaoding and AI group VP at Guangyun Tech.

  3. Panel · 02

    Channel strategy & retail landing for global brands

    • Elsie WangModerator

      Co-Founder, Hibee

      Entrepreneurship and brand partnerships; previously at MiraclePlus and Industrial Securities.

    • Jason Zhang

      Strategy & Program Management, Walmart Global eCommerce

      ~20 years in strategy consulting and cross-border business.

    • Jennifer Yip

      Founder & CEO, JJB Beauty Group

      Brands include PNBS MED and Paint Nail Beauty Spa; Economic Development Commissioner, City of Cupertino.

    • Lin Wei

      Vice President, Rolife (Robotime)

      Takes Chinese original designer toys into mainstream global retail.

    • Nancy Wu

      Senior Manager, Henry Schein

      Strategy, business development and M&A; previously KPMG, PwC and Allianz Global Investors.

    • Sarah He

      Regional Operations Lead, TARANIS

      Owns TARANIS U.S. stores 0→1, from real estate and build-out to operations.

  4. Panel · 03

    Taking Chinese food & restaurant brands to North America

    • Milly CheungModerator

      Director, Lee & Associates

      20+ years in premium real estate across China and the U.S.

    • Sandra Chen

      Co-Founder, Chen Ji Wang Fu

      25 years in food; built a single snack into a category leader with ¥2B+ peak annual sales.

    • Joyce Zhang

      Partner, Golden Harvest Foods

      U.S. production of non-fried noodles and seasonings; guest lecturer at Harvard Business School.

    • Kat Shen

      Head of Business Development, ZBS POS CA

      F&B, retail and consumer brand partnerships in North America.

    • Tony Tan

      President of the Americas & Global General Counsel, Yang Guo Fu Group

      Leads expansion across North & South America and legal in 25+ markets.

    • James Jia

      Head of International Expansion, Gantang Mingshan Restaurant Group

      Took Tanyu and Cai Lan Dim Sum into Southeast Asia, Australia and North America.

  5. Keynote

    Sandriver: rooted in place — a flagship as cultural space

    • Virginia Cao

      Head of Global Flagship (Zhangyuan), Sandriver

      Leads brand expression and high-end customization at Sandriver's Shanghai flagship.

  6. Panel · 04

    Home & building-materials manufacturing and supply chains in North America

    • Xueliang CuiModerator

      Executive President, Building Materials & Home Branch, China Building Decoration Association

      20+ years in building-materials management; author of a dozen industry books.

    • Eric Sun

      CEO, American Built Cabinets

      U.S. building materials and real-estate development, San Jose.

    • Rodgers Luo

      President, American Innolighting

      Finance and overseas investment across logistics, real estate and building materials.

    • John Huang

      CEO, H.D Kitchen & Bath Trading

      Real-estate investment, construction and furniture import across the full U.S. residential chain.

    • Hans Lin

      General Manager, Kosmonia Limited

      Architectural and home glass; opening the group's first overseas factory in Indonesia in 2026.

    • Mandy Zhen

      Founder, S&P Builder Inc.

      Bay Area design + build + materials, with a local cabinet factory.

  7. Panel · 05

    Cross-border compliance, disputes & capital structure

    • Lizhi ChenModerator

      Senior Attorney, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP

      U.S. capital markets and cross-border transactions; formerly at Skadden Beijing.

    • Rui Bu

      Partner, Fangda Partners

      M&A, private equity and outbound investment; J.D., University of Georgia.

    • Jiadi Liu

      Partner, JunHe

      IP, advertising and AIGC compliance for creative and fashion; Chambers-ranked TMT lawyer (2026).

    • Haiyan Tang

      Managing Partner (Shanghai), Kunying Law

      Cross-border litigation and international arbitration; formerly at Paul Hastings and Kirkland & Ellis.

    • Caroline Lu

      Principal, UHY Advisors

      Valuation, M&A, equity incentives and 409A across tech, healthcare and consumer.

  8. Keynote

    New growth for global brands in the AI era

    • Millie Li

      Industry Manager, Greater China New Business, Google

      Turns global ambition into scalable revenue for high-potential Chinese companies.

    • Elaine Xu

      Industry Manager, Greater China New Business, Google

      Former strategic marketing lead for Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Durex.

  9. Panel · 06

    Capital, investment & upgrading the building-materials value chain

    • Xueliang CuiModerator

      Executive President, China Building Decoration Association

    • Yaogang Li

      Executive Vice Chair, China Engineering & Consulting Association

      National Master of Engineering Survey & Design; editor of national standards.

    • Zhen Jin

      President, SunwayWorld

      Master-data and lab-information systems for 4,000+ organizations; listed on ChiNext (301159).

    • Daniel Zhu

      Assistant to the President, Power Dekor Group

      14 years in building materials; leads overseas expansion.

    • Honggang Zhu

      GM of Procurement, Shanghai Quanzhu Holding

      Supply chain for luxury residential and commercial fit-out.

    • Jinbo Gao

      Director Attorney, Hanlong Law Firm

      Adjunct professor, China University of Political Science and Law.

  10. Keynote

    Risk control & credit enhancement for cross-border e-commerce

    • Raymond Chuan

      Vice President, Xcotton

      Cross-border insurtech; formerly at Oracle and ByteDance.

  11. Panel · 07

    Product, growth marketing & market expansion for global brands

    • Elsie WangModerator

      Co-Founder, Hibee

    • Miao Kang

      CEO, Witti Marketing

      Helped 100+ U.S.–China companies grow 10x; Forbes 2024 list.

    • Jie Jin

      Executive Vice President, Niutong Consulting

      Overseas go-to-market; offices in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Dubai.

    • Rufei Qian

      CEO, NihaoPay

      Contactless cross-border payments; two-time founder with exits, angel investor.

    • Sydney Kuo

      Head of Incubator, Taihe Biotech

      Founder of pro makeup brand FrontCover; beauty supply-chain leader.

Topics covered

  • How AI closes the gap in understanding overseas consumers
  • The most common misreads when seeding on social platforms abroad
  • Online-first or store-first when entering North America
  • What it takes to get into — and stay in — Walmart and mainstream retail
  • Localization and chain expansion for Chinese F&B brands
  • Building-materials manufacturing and supply chains in North America
  • Compliance, cross-border disputes and capital structure
  • Payments, insurance and growth marketing: the infrastructure of going global

Original recap: gbiworld.org

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