Ann Zhang

Executive Leadership Program - Amsterdam Class 07

Ann Zhang
Co-Founder
I am based in: Shanghai

I am currently engaged in the Sustainable Water Management sector. One of my projects is to introduce European Water Stewardship System (www.ews.info) in China. We help organizations (industries or agricultures) to mitigate their water risk, and to design collective initiatives for a group of stakeholders in the same river basin based on water stewardship scheme. Meanwhile, I am partnering with international start-ups in the innovative water technology field, to create a new market in China.

My passion is to leverage the power of business and technology to tackle social challenges. I have been engaged in market entry and strategic business development in China for almost a decade. My last project involves leading a big M&A team for a large European automobile company to set up joint ventures with Chinese state-owned OEMs.

Participating in the Executive Leadership Program at THNK helped me find my call to the future. My belief is that everyone can bring a positive difference to the world in order to make it better. I also got enlightenment at THNK: we are all connected. If a challenge is big enough in China, it will also be a challenge for the rest of the world. In other words, we are interdependent.

I am 43, married, and live with my fantastic husband in the Shanghai region of China. We like traveling to different countries, hiking, meeting friends, and learning new cultures. I am an experienced Yoga practitioner and Yoga teacher. I like Paul Graham’s words for start-ups: live in the future and build what seems interesting!

I was nominated to become a THNKer by Ming Wai Yun