LI Jing

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

“A nature lover who believes in working for brighter and meaningful living.”

Hometown: Weifang, Shandong, China

Fun fact about yourself: You make your own luck in life! Having lost my underwater camera whilst scuba diving one day, I found it the very next on the seabed.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Tsinghua University, Bachelor Degree of Computer Science

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I was the Acting Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange, the very first energy exchange in China.

 Where did you intern during the summer of 2022? Royal DSM N.V., Shanghai China.

Where will you be working after graduation? I will be a Demand Planner at Royal DSM N.V. for its Animal Health business segment in China, optimizing its demand forecast, reducing inventory and maintaining high safety levels.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

President of MBA Student Committee

Recipient of CEIBS Merit Scholarship

Recipient of the DSM Scholarship

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? We hosted an MBA Chinese New Year Gala at CEIBS and absolutely lifted the roof off the auditorium! Normally, the venue is reserved for formal events, so it was a nice moment to celebrate not only our academic prowess but also the variety of talents my classmates have beyond the classroom.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I had the opportunity to work in six countries with colleagues from many different nationalities and backgrounds. This was the foundation of truly appreciating and embracing cultural differences.

Why did you choose this business school? It was close to home! This is an honest and essential factor after having explored overseas for many years. I wanted to continue and accelerate my career in China, so I came to CEIBS.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Our Marketing Professor Xiang Yi taught us ‘Marketing to Organizations’ and ‘Go to Market Strategies’. He is a very cool professor who rock climbs, cycles and skis. More than this, his classes really helped us to bridge that understanding between theory and practice. The courses he taught were very useful for B2B settings, managing sales channels and distributors and working backwards from the customer’s perspective when making go-to-market decisions.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Industry and Competitive Analysis taught by CEIBS Professor of Strategy Zhang Yu. I loved this course particularly because the content was delivered in ‘real-time’ as many of the companies we analyze are constantly evolving. It will also be interesting to check whether our ‘judgement’ will be correct or not in a few years’ time.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? The new tradition of Chinese New Year Gala we created, leaving a legacy and the stage for future CEIBS MBA students to shine on different sides.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? The only thing I wish was different was the impact of COIVD-19. We would have had a perfect MBA journey if there was no lockdown and we could have completed our overseas modules as planned.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Shanghai is an international metropolis with its unique culture and beauty. Everyone has their own reason for loving the city. For me, it’s that you are never far away from a coffee shop to power you through the day.

What surprised you the most about business school? The diversity of our classmates’ backgrounds. We have an actor with Hollywood experience as well as a scientist with patents.

What is one thing you did during the application process that gave you an edge at the school you chose? I guess it might be my six years’ experience of working in different countries with colleagues from different cultures and backgrounds that makes me a good candidate to embrace diversity in CEIBS MBA and to help glue the community together.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? It would be Sabine Neuhaus, from Switzerland, a lawyer, pianist and salsa dance who speaks five languages. She is just like a heroine walking out from a novel book with so many talents. What I admire about her most is her time management skills. She needs to spend two hours per day for commuting, yet she manages to thoroughly read all of the cases, which sometimes I cannot achieve whilst living on campus!

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Become a mentor for the CEIBS MBA Mentoring Programme in order to give back to the community

Manage a meaningful business and make it sustainable

What made LI Jing such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2023?

“As the Student Committee President of the MBA Class 2024, Jing is the “hidden hero” as he “positions” himself to shine by enabling more peers to organize various events, such as brewing their own beers! By doing so, he and his team have helped to form a culture of ‘the best batch’ with a strong sense of pride and belonging.

Academic-wise, he is also a top performer of his batch – he might not be the student with the highest score, but his sharp discussions and comments always impress the professor and his peers.”

Dr. Zhang Yu
Professor of Strategy, CEIBS
Programme Co-Director of Advanced Management Programme
Programme Co-Director of CEIBS Venture Capital Camp

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE LIST OF MBAS TO WATCH IN 2023