Date: 29 April, 2024 (Monday)
Time: 10am-1pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
City: Melbourne, Australia
Event hosts: Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, City of Melbourne
Supporting Organizations: CHIN Communications, BMYG Financial, Laurel International
Format: By invitation only
This in-person, invitation-only seminar to be held in Melbourne, Australia, on April 29, will convene renowned government officials, business leaders and academics for a talk by CKGSB Founding Dean Xiang Bing on the topic of ‘Economic Disruption and the Next Generation of Unicorns.’ The event will also feature remarks from Melbourne’s Deputy Lord Mayer Nicholas Reece and other notable figures in Australia.
Together, our seasoned speakers will shed light on the landscape and importance of unicorn companies, and what constitutes the next generation of unicorns; the outlook of globalization and economic development; and growth opportunities through cross-border collaboration.
CKGSB’s Global Unicorns Programs have established partnerships across various countries with renowned universities like Stanford, Columbia and UC San Diego. Committed to fostering a global ecosystem for emerging unicorn companies, this series of programs aims to facilitate exchange and learning opportunities between soon-to-be unicorn companies, investors and governments worldwide.
*Speakers are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Founder of Laurel International Group
Alumni of the 35th EMBA intake of CKGSB
Dr. Xiang Bing is the Founding Dean and Dean’s Distinguished Chair Professor of China Business and Globalization at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). Since 2002, he has built CKGSB into one of China’s most influential, and globally recognized business schools.
Widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese business and economy, Dr. Xiang has been a distinguished recurring keynote speaker at top U.S. university-led China forums for recent years. He has delivered exclusive keynotes at the Penn Wharton China Summit (opening keynotes in 2023 & 2026, and closing keynote in 2024 & 2025), the Harvard College China Forum (opening keynotes in 2018, 2019 & 2023, and closing keynotes in 2017 & 2024), and the Columbia China Forum (closing keynote 2024).
Dr. Xiang has also shared his unique insights with top global corporations and their senior executive leaders, including serving as a special lecturer addressing 200-300 chairmen, board members, and C-suite executives at Malaysia’s Financial Institutions Directors’ Education Forum (FIDE Forum) (January 2026); the only keynote speaker for top executive leaders from 36 major enterprises across Sweden and Finland at the Combient Senior Executive China Deep Dive (November 2025); exclusive speaker for Morgan Stanley Briefing (August 2025); one of the four opening keynote speakers at the Indonesia Economic Summit (February 2025); keynote speaker at the Morgan Stanley Twenty-First Century Asia Pacific Summit (September 2022); and the only closing keynote speaker at the SCMP China Conference: United States, celebrating the 40th anniversary of US-China Relations in New York City (December 2019).
Dr. Xiang is also a prominent participant in high-level global closed-door forums and conferences, including the Twentieth Edition of Roundtable Japan (2025), Ditchley Foundation Annual Forum (2010, 2012, 2018 and 2021-where he served as First Co-Chairman in 2018), Rome Roundtable (2017-2020, 2022, 2024), and the invitation-only Yale CEO Summit in New York City (2016).
Dr. Xiang has served as an independent board member to multiple listed companies, including four Fortune Global 500 companies. He was a member of the Global Board of Trustees for United Way Worldwide (U.S.) (2011-2017) and currently sits on the Advisory Board of Asia House (London) and acts as Counselor for One Young World Summit (Dublin).
Under Dr. Xiang’s leadership, CKGSB has developed a distinctive model of management education that integrates the humanities, philanthropy, and social innovation into its degree and executive programs. Since first incorporating the humanities into its curriculum in 2005, CKGSB has made philanthropy and social innovation central across its programs, launched the Ji’an poverty-alleviation initiative, and received China Philanthropy Times’ “Annual Philanthropic Enterprise” award five times (2017–2020, 2023).
Dr. Xiang’s research focuses on how countries and enterprises navigate periods of profound economic, technological and geopolitical change. His work spans global development models, economic disruption, China-U.S. relations, global trade and investment, and the transformation of Chinese enterprises, with particular attention to scaling, globally relevant business models, and the emergence of “Groundbreaking Innovation.”
Prof. Charle QIN OAM, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CHIN Communications
Mr. Nicholas REECE, Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne
Mrs. Caroline HARTNETT, Acting Director of International Education & Study Melbourne of Victorian Government
Prof. and Dr. Bing XIANG, Founding Dean and Distinguished Chair Professor of China Business and Globalization, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)
Mrs. Katherine CHEN, Founder of Laurel International Group, CKGSB EMBA Alumni
The Hon. Bruce ATKINSON, Former Member of Victorian Parliament
Australian Eastern Standard Time*
In partnership with Columbia Engineering
This program is designed to equip senior executives with the strategic insights and tools necessary to lead in this transformative era.
In partnership with Stanford Engineering Center for Global & Online Education
This CKGSB program equips entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and key stakeholders with the tools, insights, and skills necessary to lead a new generation of unicorn companies.
In partnership with UC Berkeley College of Engineering
This program equips participants with proven strategies, cutting-edge research, and the best-in-class advice to fuel innovation, seize emerging tech developments, and catalyse transformation within your organization.
