Jiefu Liu

The Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University

“Mission-driven, outside-of-the-box thinker, deeply respectful of hardworking people.”

Hometown: Leshan, Sichuan, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: I told my parents that I wanted to work for Jack Ma while I was in high school, then joined Alibaba Group in March 2016.

Undergraduate School and Major: Sichuan Normal University, Financial Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Alibaba Group – Senior Risk Specialist

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At Alibaba, I managed a 14-person risk analyst team. During that time, I redesigned the structure of the team, found new ways to tackle problems and improved the efficiency of our work by 130%. I was humbled to receive the best employee award in my first year with the organization.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? My classmates are so diverse, coming from various backgrounds, and I appreciate the opportunity to learn their opinions and work with them. Their can-do attitude also impresses me.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Firstly, McGill’s remarkable reputation is the biggest reason. I felt it was essential to carry a well-known name while trying to globalize myself. Secondly, the small class size makes me feel that I am included in a real community. Thirdly, in my mind, an MBA is an opportunity for experienced professionals to expand their minds and make some friends. Montreal as a city and Canada as a country felt like the best place for me to do that.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? Rather than select just one, my goal is to attend as many events as possible, immersing myself in the MBA experience and broadening myself as a professional.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I sensed that if I stayed in my previous career track, an MBA would have been required in 2 to 3 years. Nowadays, the best Chinese companies are actively expanding their presence overseas, and they are very interested in hiring people from China who understand how the western business world works. Moreover, I believe it is vital to be culturally prepared for this trend of globalization both in my career and my life.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? By doing the MBA at the age of 27, the opportunity cost is reasonable. What’s more, I value the MBA as a life-long investment. I believe the ROI from this experience will be substantial, as it will help my career reach even greater heights.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Some top universities in Hong Kong and mainland China.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? Besides the reasons mentioned in the above questions, I checked the median GMAT and median undergraduate GPA. It was important for me to be surrounded by high-quality classmates, so that we can learn from each other. Listening to comments from current MBA students about their experience was also vital in my decision-making. Lastly, I researched where each school’s alumni were working and what were their jobs before the MBA.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? All of the moments when I experienced setbacks and failures. They helped me become more resilient.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? Back to the technology industry with a focus on project management and business analytics.

Where do you see yourself in five years? The next five years will define my life. I hope to find a job where I can enthusiastically contribute my talent with an organization that I passionately believe in.