Keynote Speakers
For information about our other speakers, please see the Program page.
  Charles L. CooneyRobert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering MIT Faculty Director Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation |  Thomas LiVice President IBM Director IBM Research China |  Shi WangChairman China Vanke Co. Ltd |  Sonny WuCo-Founder and Managing Director GSR Ventures |  Ya-Qin ZhangCorporate Vice President Microsoft Corporation Chairman Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group |
Charles L. Cooney
Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering, MIT
Faculty Director, Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation
Faculty Director, Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation
Charles L. Cooney received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, and the S.M. (1967) and Ph.D. (1970) in biochemical engineering from MIT. After a short post-doc at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research, he joined the MIT faculty as an assistant professor in 1970, becoming full professor in 1982.
Cooney’s honors include the 1989 Gold Medal of the Institute of Biotechnological Studies (London); the Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; the James Van Lanen Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society’s Division of Microbial and Biochemical Technology; and election to the American Institute of Medical and Biochemical Engineers and the Fellows of the American Chemical Society.
A consultant to multiple biotech and pharmaceutical companies, Cooney sits on the boards of Polypore International, Biocon, Ltd. (India) and multiple private companies (LS9, Inc., GreenLight Bioscience, Mitra, Essentient). His research and teaching span many aspects of biochemical engineering and pharmaceutical manufacturing. He holds more than 30 patents, has published over 250 research papers, and has co-authored or edited five books, including Development of Sustainable Bioprocesses: Modeling and Assessment (Wiley Press, 2006).<br><br>In addition to his professional interests, Cooney is a trustee emeriti of the Boston Ballet, an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a board member of MIT’s Community Service Fund. Other interests include rock climbing, skiing, high altitude mountaineering (with assents of Denali, Ama Dablam, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, Huascaran), scuba diving, and antique map collecting.
Cooney’s honors include the 1989 Gold Medal of the Institute of Biotechnological Studies (London); the Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; the James Van Lanen Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society’s Division of Microbial and Biochemical Technology; and election to the American Institute of Medical and Biochemical Engineers and the Fellows of the American Chemical Society.
A consultant to multiple biotech and pharmaceutical companies, Cooney sits on the boards of Polypore International, Biocon, Ltd. (India) and multiple private companies (LS9, Inc., GreenLight Bioscience, Mitra, Essentient). His research and teaching span many aspects of biochemical engineering and pharmaceutical manufacturing. He holds more than 30 patents, has published over 250 research papers, and has co-authored or edited five books, including Development of Sustainable Bioprocesses: Modeling and Assessment (Wiley Press, 2006).<br><br>In addition to his professional interests, Cooney is a trustee emeriti of the Boston Ballet, an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a board member of MIT’s Community Service Fund. Other interests include rock climbing, skiing, high altitude mountaineering (with assents of Denali, Ama Dablam, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, Huascaran), scuba diving, and antique map collecting.
Thomas Li
Vice President, IBM
Director, IBM Research China
Director, IBM Research China
Dr. Thomas Li, Vice President of IBM, is the Director of IBM Research China and the Chief Technology Officer of IBM Greater China Group (CTO of IBM GCG). Under his leadership，IBM Research China, which has two research laboratories located in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively, has been a significant contributor in advancing the technology development and applications in the following areas: Next Generation Computing Systems, Cloud Computing, Information and Knowledge Management, Human Computer Interaction, Service Sciences, and Mathematics and Operations Research. It is now devoted to the technology and industry applications development of the Internet of Things. As the CTO of IBM GCG, Thomas is the major driver of IBM Smarter Planet innovations focusing on building the ecosystem thru partnership with academia, industry, government, and other research institutes throughout the world. Additionally, Thomas leads IBM intellectual property (IP) licensing and collaboration efforts in GCG. Thomas is a strategist as well as a pragmatist. He established the ground-breaking In-Market Research approach that has propelled a number of successful pioneer projects, including SaaS, Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Healthcare systems, Power Management, and Business Transformation.
Thomas had served as the Chairman of Greater China Chapter in Global Supply Chain Council (2009-2010), and has been granted honorary professor and guest professor titles by a number of top universities in China. He holds 96 patents granted worldwide including 32 from the United States in several technical areas, and publications in referred conferences and journals.
Thomas had served as the Chairman of Greater China Chapter in Global Supply Chain Council (2009-2010), and has been granted honorary professor and guest professor titles by a number of top universities in China. He holds 96 patents granted worldwide including 32 from the United States in several technical areas, and publications in referred conferences and journals.
Shi Wang
Chairman, China Vanke Co. Ltd
Shi Wang is currently Chairman of China Vanke Co. Ltd, a Chinese corporation with sales revenue of RMB52.36 billion and net profits that have steadily increased for each of the last 16 years. China Vanke currently employs approximately 16,000 employees located throughout 28 locations in China.
Sonny Wu
Co-Founder and Managing Director, GSR Ventures
Sonny Wu focuses on investments in the semiconductors, new materials, and new energy sectors. He has made extensive investments related to LED technology, and is an active board member for LatticePower, ShineOn, and Times Energy. Sonny is currently on the boards of Panovel, PowerLayer, Quanray Electronics, Sigma Resources, and SMiT.
Prior to GSR, Sonny held key executive positions at Nortel Networks and led the investment in Shanghai ASMC (HKEX: 3355) in 1994. He served as Managing Director for Shanghai Nortel Semiconductors Corp. and Guangdong Nortel Telecom Corp. in 1995.
Sonny grew up in China, and completed his education at the University of British Columbia, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan Fellow).
Prior to GSR, Sonny held key executive positions at Nortel Networks and led the investment in Shanghai ASMC (HKEX: 3355) in 1994. He served as Managing Director for Shanghai Nortel Semiconductors Corp. and Guangdong Nortel Telecom Corp. in 1995.
Sonny grew up in China, and completed his education at the University of British Columbia, the University of California at Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan Fellow).
Ya-Qin Zhang
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Corporation
Chairman, Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group
Chairman, Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group
As a Corporate Vice President of Microsoft, and Chairman of Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group (ARD), Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang is responsible for driving Microsoft’s overall research and development efforts in China. ARD has become Microsoft’s largest R&D centre outside of U.S., with more than 3000 engineers and scientists engaged in basic research, technology innovation and incubation, product development, and strategic partnership. In addition to this role, Zhang serves on Microsoft Great China Executive Management Committee providing leadership and governance across all of Microsoft’s organizations in the Greater China Region.
He was formerly Corporate Vice President of Microsoft, responsible for Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Division in Redmond, USA and Managing director of Microsoft Research Asia, Microsoft’s basic research arm in Asia-Pacific region. Before Microsoft Zhang was Director of Multimedia Technology Laboratory at Sarnoff Corporation in Princeton, NJ (RCA Laboratories).
Zhang is a Fellow of IEEE. Zhang received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1983 and 1985. He received his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University, Washington D.C. in 1989 and has executive business development training from Harvard University.
He was formerly Corporate Vice President of Microsoft, responsible for Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Division in Redmond, USA and Managing director of Microsoft Research Asia, Microsoft’s basic research arm in Asia-Pacific region. Before Microsoft Zhang was Director of Multimedia Technology Laboratory at Sarnoff Corporation in Princeton, NJ (RCA Laboratories).
Zhang is a Fellow of IEEE. Zhang received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1983 and 1985. He received his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University, Washington D.C. in 1989 and has executive business development training from Harvard University.