Co-hosted by Sequoia Capital China, the Yale School of Management, and the Yale Center Beijing.

Time and Location

Friday to Sunday, 05/19/2017 - 05/21/2017

Yale Center Beijing
8 Jianguomenwai Avenue, 36th Floor, Tower B, IFC Building (Yong’anli Station, Exit C)

The Event

Sequoia Capital China, the Yale School of Management (SOM), and the Yale Center Beijing (YCB) welcomed the graduates of the inaugural Yale SOM-Sequoia China Leadership Program at a ceremony held on Sunday, May 21, 2017. The first graduates of this pioneering program, which include more than 40 founders, CEOs and top executives from Sequoia Capital China’s portfolio companies, received certificates to commemorate their achievements over this yearlong journey. Neil Shen, Founding and Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital China, Professor Zhiwu Chen, Professor of Finance and Economics at the Yale SOM, renowned businessmen Lun Feng, and financier Fan Bao joined the ceremony as keynote speakers and encouraged the graduates to pursue excellence, engage in lifelong learning, and build companies that last.

Jointly established by a leading VC/PE firm and a top global business school, the Yale SOM-Sequoia China Leadership Program is the first of its kind in China. With a curriculum that incorporates global and multidisciplinary insights, the Program is unique in combining intellectual inquiries into the Chinese and Western entrepreneurial experience and business practices. As a Chinese poet once wrote, “If you wish to learn the art of poetry, you need to acquire the skills and knowledge from outside of the field.” With an emphasis on equipping entrepreneurs with an overarching framework for navigating an increasingly complex business environment, the Program draws on both Yale’s and Sequoia’s wealth of resources to help the Program’s participants hone their strategic acumen, grow as leaders, and build a robust support network. Besides learning from Yale’s acclaimed faculty members such as Professor Zhiwu Chen, the Program’s participants have also had exclusive opportunities to interact with successful business and thought leaders, influential media personalities, as well as conduct in-depth visits at China’s most innovative companies. The diverse activities offered throughout the program all contribute to an exceptional learning experience that enable entrepreneurs to become world-class business leaders.