Club Call-out: Five Things to Know About the Wharton Club of Beijing

With a database of more than 500 alumni in Beijing, regular events and an energized leadership, the Wharton Club of Beijing serves as a powerful resource for anyone traveling through or moving to the People’s Republic of China. Entrepreneur Marvin Mao, WG’11, club president since May 2013, was kind enough to share an executive summary of all that the club has happening.

1. Past Events as Prologue for Future Success

In the past year, the club held a VC/PE professional panel; a talk by John Zhang, Wharton’s Murrel J. Ades Professor and director of the Penn Wharton China Center; a 180-person dinner with Columbia’s alumni club to celebrate Chinese New Year; and a “cross-continental” joint event with the Wharton Africa Club when its delegation visited in May. Mao foresees more events in the future along these tracks—professional and industry-specific, collaborative and social—as he helps to build the club as if it were a startup.

2. Resource for the School

The Wharton Club of Beijing assisted a group of Wharton professors who visited China in June, connecting them with young local entrepreneurs, for instance. The club also hosted the School’s new admits, welcoming them into the community.

3. Takeaways From the Wharton Global Forum Beijing

“We are very optimistic about the future of the Chinese economy in the next 10 years,” Mao says, explaining that the forum was a great chance to share ideas with professors and senior alumni and explore regional opportunity.

4. Great Team

Mao gave a shout-out to partners on the club’s board: Kai Hong, G’05, WG’05; Tomer Rothschild, WG’01; and Andrea Chang, WG’08. “I am really happy to work with my Wharton club team,” Mao says. “We have a really strong team. We try very hard, even with our crazy, daily work.”

5. Best Way to Contact the Club

Start first on the club’s official website: www.whartonbj.com. Find Mao’s information on the Wharton Global Club Directory at: http://whr.tn/wharton-club-directory. The president also invites interested alumni to contact club officers through the alumni database, WhartonConnect.