Yan Liu
Executive Leadership Program - Amsterdam Class 01
I have been an impact entrepreneur, eco-system builder, and innovation catalyst for two decades, mainly focused in the area of social entrepreneurship, future of work/learning, open innovation, and leadership.
I am the Co-Founder and CEO of School of Gumption to develop youth and professionals to be future-ready and drive change with heart and entrepreneurial dare. It nurtures deep personal mastery and supports people to build a risk-taking culture and learn skills to leverage on exponential technologies to deploy towards the desired future.
Prior to relocating to Singapore, I co-founded the first co-working space in China – Xindanwei – which is listed as FastCompany’s “The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in China.” As one of the most important grassroots creative centers in China, Xindanwei has given birth to many extraordinary initiatives, including Xinchejian, the first maker-community in China and pioneer of China’s fast-blooming maker movement. I am the author of The Co-working Manuel, the first bilingual book on co-working in Chinese and English.
I am also the Co-Founder and chief curator of The China Australian Millennium Project (C.A.M.P), a unique 100-day incubator program designed to train, mentor, and empower emerging young Australian and Chinese leaders and entrepreneurs. I have co-developed a full learning program of “Cross-Cultural Leadership” integrated with the design thinking process to help leaders build skills and a mindset of leading and collaborating in a globalized world, blending Western and Eastern thinking. Prior to that, I also founded Ask Lab, a social enterprise that connects talent and ideas with business challenges through co-creation and experiential learning.
Prior to my entrepreneurial endeavor, I worked for more than 10 years as a marketing professional holding diverse positions in several multinational corporations in China and the Netherlands. This provided me with the structure and understanding of the corporate world that shaped my ability to know how to build and operate entrepreneurial businesses.
