Hongyi Liu (Felix)

National University of Singapore, NUS Business School

“An adventurer – enthusiastic, dedicated and resolute.”

Hometown: Changchun, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: I lived and worked in North Korea for half a year and in Pakistan for four years. I’m an avid sports and gaming enthusiast.

Undergraduate School and Major: Jilin University, Bachelor of Arts in Korean Language and Literature

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:

KAOLA.COM, Alibaba

Senior Business Development Manager (European Division, KA)

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA curriculum or activities that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The reason I joined NUS is because of its leadership position in Asia. I intend to expand my career in Asia, and I believe there is huge growth potential here.

What quality best describes your MBA classmates and why? Diversity. My classmates come from many different backgrounds and with varied experiences; I always learn something new when I talk with them.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I helped increase the sales market share of CHINA FAW GROUP in the automotive industry in Pakistan in 2017.

I led a team of 50 to achieve 35% of the company’s annual global exports in 2017, worth a total export value of USD 30 million or 30% of the company’s annual GMV export. This involved carrying regular market research, promoting public relations, and optimizing systems and workflows.

In achieving this, I learned to cultivate great relationships among a multicultural team and improved my people skills.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? I’m proud to have been elected the Vice President of the Technology Club.

What has been the biggest surprise in your first months of business school? It was balancing my time between classes and activities. Basically, I feel time is never enough to pursue all the opportunities available to me on this exciting programme.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career?  I started my career in the automobile industry. I spent six years in China, North Korea, Thailand and Pakistan, which exposed me to diverse cultures, social customs, beliefs and regulations.

After witnessing the decline of the automotive industry, I decided to jump out of my comfort zone and join the internet industry, an industry full of unknown challenges and opportunities for me. I mastered the operation modes and characteristics of cross-border e-commerce within just one year, by devouring new knowledge and embracing different perspectives. This enabled me to take on the leading role in many important business development projects in Kaola as I continued widening my knowledge by putting it to practice.

I realized that business development is a single function job, and I wanted to expand my career path. My boss suggested that I should pursued an MBA, so I took her advice and started my MBA journey.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? INSEAD and CEIBS.

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