2021 Chinese New Year Business Forum: Rebuilding a Mutually Beneficial Relationship between China and the U.S.

The Georgia State University Office of International Initiatives, the Chinese Business Association of Atlanta, and the Carter Center invite you to their event “Rebuilding a Mutually Beneficial Relationship between China and the U.S.”

Panelists:

William Chen, President & CEO, Moons Enterprise Inc. and Lin Engineering Inc.

William Chen is a proven international business leader with over 30 years’ experience developing and managing business for continuous profitable growth in international organizations. Mr. Chen is currently on the positions and hold the titles as: President and CEO, Moons Enterprise (America), Inc. A Delaware Corp.; President and CEO, Lin Engineering, Inc. A California Corp.; and President and CEO, Moons Industries (America), Inc. A Illinois Corporation. Prior to becoming the General Manager for North America for Moons’ Industries, (America), Inc., William served as Director of Sales & Marketing for Shanghai Moons’ Group, a $300 million USD diversified manufacturing company with over 3,000 associates in Shanghai, China.  In that capacity, he was successful in developing, identifying, and securing new business opportunities, and Building international business relationships with major European customers. Creating, recruiting, training, and managing the international sales organization resulting in 43% annual growth in the European Hi-Tech Market. William has an Executive MBA from Loyola University in Chicago along with a Bachelor of Science degree from Xian Electronic, Science & Technology University in Xian, China.  In addition, he has been awarded numerous certificates; Manager for Enterprise Certificate; International Business Certificate; International Business Certificate, Electronics Industry Management College; Certificate of International Trade, USA Educational Service Exchange; and Manager of Overseas’ Enterprises.

Yawei Liu, Director of China Programs, Carter Center

Yawei Liu (刘亚伟) is the senior advisor on China at The Carter Center and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the associate director of the China Research Center in Atlanta and an adjunct professor of Political Science at Emory University. He is the founding editor of www.chinaelections.org which went online in 2002. He launched the US-China Perception Monitor websites [www.uscnpm.org (English) and cn3.uscnpm.org (Chinese)] in 2014. Yawei earned his B.A in English literature from Xian Foreign Languages Institute (1982), M.A. in recent Chinese history from the University of Hawaii (1989) and Ph. D. in American History from Emory University (1996). 

PJ Bain, CEO, PrimeRevenue

PJ Bain is an established software and technology entrepreneur, having served numerous firms in the roles of founder, executive, advisor and investor. With an impressive and accomplished track record as an enterprise software entrepreneur and executive, PJ Bain joined PrimeRevenue as Chief Executive Officer in July of 2009. Under his leadership, the company has received numerous awards for growth, customer service, and innovation along with recognition as a top Atlanta employer. Immediately prior to PrimeRevenue, PJ was the VP and General Manager of Exact Holding N.V. (NYSE/AMS: EXACT), a leading global provider of business software solutions. He was previously Founder and CEO of Inspired Solutions, an Atlanta-based, B2B software and services firm that grew to be the largest reseller of Exact Software in North America, later acquired by Exact. PJ holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Ginger Merritt, Vice President, Performance Colorants & Ingredients, Milliken & Company |||||

Ginger Merritt joined Milliken in June 2020 as Vice President, Performance Colorants and Ingredients. Based at Milliken’s Spartanburg headquarters, Ginger brings to Milliken more than 30 years’ experience in transformational leadership across multiple industries, more than 13 of these in China and across South East Asia. Her expertise includes global product management and marketing, integration and divestiture, implementation of strategic programs and sales tactics, and working with R&D to drive new product development. Before joining Milliken, Ginger served as the Vice President and China Country Manager for Michelman Inc., and Vice President Polymers, Greater China at Wacker Chemicals China, both in Shanghai. Ginger has a BS and MS in Chemistry from the University of Houston and an MBA from Colombia University.

Moderator:

Trevor Williams, Global Atlanta

A seasoned digital journalist, Trevor Williams has spent the last decade covering the intersection between local and global business, traveling to more than 30 countries on five continents in pursuit of stories linked to his native state of Georgia. He focuses intently on Asia and also has written extensively on foreign direct investment, trade and exports, Georgia’s ties with China, and Atlanta’s emergence as a payments hub, among other topics. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees in magazine journalism and religion at the University of Georgia, also minoring in Chinese language and literature. He is a proud husband and father of two young sons, as well as the editor of the book “Making Men: Five Steps to Growing Up.”

This event is sponsored by the China Reseach Center.