Sonia Cheng is the chief executive officer of Rosewood Hotel Group, one of the world’s leading global lifestyle and hospitality management groups which encompasses ultra-luxury Rosewood; upper-upscale New World Hotels & Resorts; Asaya, an integrated well-being concept; and Carlyle & Co. a modern and progressive private members' club. Sonia is also the vice-chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group (SEHK stock code:1929), which was founded in 1929 and has been listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 2011. Renowned for its product design, quality, and value, the Group caters to diverse customer segments through its iconic flagship brand Chow Tai Fook" and other individual brans including Hearts on Fire, Enzo, Soinlove and Monologue", offering curated retail experiences and a wide variety of products, services, and channels. Sonia is also the executive director of New World Development Company Limited and a director of New World China Land, which, together with Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, comprise one of the largest conglomerates in Hong Kong. 

Since taking the helm of Rosewood in 2011, Sonia has successfully grown the luxury lifestyle brand into a globally renowned presence, with more than 50 hotels across 26 countries and over 30 new properties currently under development. In addition to her achievements at Rosewood, Sonia plays a prominent role at Chow Tai Fook, one of the world’s largest jewellers with a heritage spanning almost a century, where she is responsible for the strategic direction, performance, and corporate transformation. A visionary leader, her mission is to revitalize iconic legacy brands, ensuring they resonate with and appeal to today’s emerging demographics. She draws inspiration from the rich heritage of each brand, crafting curated experiences that deliver authentic and meaningful moments to stand apart in their categories. Sonia’s passion for connecting local cultures and traditions is exemplified through both Rosewood and Chow Tai Fook, where guests and customers are immersed in impactful experiences that establish lasting connections and build brands that are relevant and enduring. 

Sonia’s past experiences include working with a major international investment bank, HSBC, and a global American private equity firm, Warburg Pincus, specializing in real estate investments. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Applied Mathematics with a concentration in Economics from Harvard University. 

 Sonia was named to Bloomberg Businessweek's 2018 Bloomberg 50 list and Fortune 40 under 40 in the same year. 

Dr. Alexis Chiang Colvin is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Senior Associate Dean for Alumni Affairs at Mount Sinai. A graduate of Princeton University, she received her medical degree from Mount Sinai and completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. During her residency, Dr. Colvin was selected for one of the most prestigious Sports Medicine Fellowships in the country at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA. While in Pittsburgh, Dr. Colvin cared for professional athletes, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins, collegiate athletes at the University of Pittsburgh, and numerous other collegiate and high school athletes. Dr. Colvin specializes in the surgical treatment of knee and shoulder disorders. She has authored numerous scientific publications and has presented both at national and international meetings on sports medicine and orthopaedic surgery.

Dr. Colvin is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon and member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. Dr. Colvin is the Chief Medical Officer for the US Open, the team physician for the USA's Billie Jean King (former Fed Cup) team, and served as the Chief Medical Officer for the United States Tennis Association until its relocation to Florida. Dr. Colvin has also served as a physician at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Crain’s New York Business recognized her on their inaugural “Notable Women in the Business of Sports” list in 2019 and 2022 and she has been selected as one of New York Magazine’s Best Doctors since 2016.

@YashengHuang

http://www.yashenghuang.com/

Yasheng Huang is a professor and holds the Epoch Foundation professorship of global economics and management at MIT Sloan School of Management. From 2013 to 2017, he served as an associate dean in charge of MIT Sloan’s global partnership programs and its action learning initiatives. His previous appointments include faculty positions at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School. 

Professor Huang is the author of seven books in English and another six books in Chinese and of many academic papers (such as on regulatory transparency, historical autocracy, statistical falsifications, tax, financing, sectoral and regulatory biases, history of reforms and strategy, political economy of controls, etc.) Professor Huang was a co-Principal Investigator in a large-scale multi-disciplinary research project on food safety in China. 

His book, The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to its Decline, published by Yale University Press in 2023, was selected as a Best Book of the Year in 2023 by Foreign Affairs magazine and is available in Japanese, traditional Chinese, Korean, Polish, and Bulgarian editions. His 2008 book, Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics, was selected as a Best Book of the Year in 2008 by the Economist magazine.

His book, Statism with Chinese Characteristics, was published in 2026 by Cambridge University Press. It is a comprehensive review of the history economic reforms and economic performance of China since 1978. He is collaborating with other scholars on a book project, Reframing the Needham Question, based on a large-scale database on Chinese historical inventions (under contract from Princeton University Press). He is collaborating with Clair Yang on a book project, The Great Political Divergence, under contract with Yale University Press. 

Outside of his academic research, Professor Huang has written for New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs, and Project Syndicate, Caixin and Caijing. He is working on several policy projects related to US-China relations. He was one of the coauthors of MIT’s report, “University Engagement with China: An MIT Approach” and he is a co-chair of an implementation committee of that report. He is a member of a taskforce at Asia Society on US-China policy and a member of Brookings-CSIS Advisory Council on Advancing US-China collaboration. During 2023-4, he was a visiting fellow at the Kissinger Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. 

Professor Huang founded China Lab, ASEAN Lab  and India Lab, which have provided low-cost consulting services to hundreds of small and medium enterprises in these countries. From 2015 to 2018, he ran a program in Yunnan province to train women entrepreneurs (funded by Goldman Sachs Foundation). He has held or received fellowships and grants such as Sloan Foundation Grant, Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, Walmart Foundation Grant, National Fellowship at Stanford University, and Social Science Research Council-MacArthur Fellowship. National Asia Research Program named him one of the most outstanding scholars in the United States conducting research on issues of policy importance to the United States. He has served as a consultant at World Bank, Asian Development Bank and OECD, and serves on advisory and corporate boards of non-profit and for-profit organizations. He is a founding member and is serving as the president of Asian American Scholar Forum, an NGO dedicated to open science, protection of rights and well-being of Asian American scholars.