Bain & Company partner Weiwei Xing becomes WEF Young Global Leader

Hong Kong-based Bain & Company partner Weiwei Xing has been named among 115 new faces to the exclusive community of WEF Young Global Leaders.

Established in 2004, the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders community accepts an annual intake of the world’s most promising artists, activists, academics, executives and political leaders under the age of 40. Among the latest crop of 115 members worldwide is Hong Kong-based Bain & Company partner Weiwei Xing – one of only three new additions from the consulting realm.

A partner in Bain’s Consumer Products, Retail and Performance Improvement practices, Xing has been the strategy and management consultancy for the past eight and a half years, joining in Hong Kong after previously having completed an internship with the United Nations Industrial Development Program. Earlier, she spent four and a half years as a consultant with IBM.

In addition to her professional business contributions and client impact, Xing was recognised her commitment to social work in the greater China community – following what is a notably rigorous selection process for admittance to the Young Global Leaders’ forum. Xing was cited in particular for devoting her expertise to providing educational opportunities to under privileged children.

“Weiwei is truly a positive force for change and is passionate about helping to shape a future of which we can all be proud,” said Bain’s regional managing partner Satish Shankar, who recently competed his first year in the job. “She embodies all of the attributes that a young global leader is known for and on behalf of the entire Bain family, I’d like to congratulate her on this well-deserved honor.”

With around 30 Young Global Leaders admitted from the Asian region, Xing was one of only three new members worldwide drawn from the big-league consulting realm – including David Ikkersheim, a Partner with KPMG in the Netherlands, and Roland Berger Middle East partner Bhavin Shah – but joins eight other Bain partners who have previously been selected, including Lucy d'Arville last year.

“Truly humbled to be joining this community of incredible individuals; look forward to becoming a better leader and making a bigger impact,” said Xing, who holds an MBA from the Booth School of Business. “I’ve always admired the work that the Young Global Leader community has done to help promote positive social change and look forward to joining them and helping to aid in this effort.”

In a year when the forum made a special note of the importance of inspiring and courageous global leaders as the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals looms ever closer, more than half of the latest YGL intake were women – including prominent figures such as Finland’s newly installed prime minister Sanna Marin and US soccer World Cup winning captain and social campaigner Megan Rapinoe.