Chairman of the Board & Executive Director
Yang Yu has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Company since November 2016. Mr. Yu has been serving as the executive director of several of our subsidiaries, including the executive director of Beijing Distance Learning since July 2015, the executive director of Beijing Digital Information since October 2012, the executive director of Shanghai Xia Shu network Technology Co., Ltd. since April 2016 and the executive director of Shanghai Xin Fu Network Technology Co., Ltd. since July 2015. He has also been the acting executive director of Beijing Hao Hua Hao Tai Investment Co., Ltd, an investment company, since July 2009. Mr. Yu obtained his Ph.D. in law from China University of Political Science & Law, a Master of Laws degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine from The Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, China.
CEO and Director
Xinghui Yang has served as director of the Company since March 2013 and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since November 2016. Mr. Yang has served as chief executive officer of our wholly owned subsidiary Beijing Distance Learning since March 2013 and Deputy General Manager of this subsidiary from November 2006 to February 2013. He has also been serving as chief executive officer of Beijing Digital Information since March 2013. While with Beijing Distance Learning, Mr. Yang managed the daily operations of the company. From October 2003 to October 2006, Mr. Yang served as Deputy General Manager of Beijing Meiming Media Co., Limited, an integrated marketing company. Mr. Yang obtained his B.S. in Industrial & Electrical Automation from Beijing Information Science & Technology University and his M.B.A from University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China..
Independent director
Defang Li has served as an independent director since May 2018. Mr. Li has been a professor of Beijing Normal University since 1986. He has also held various leadership positions at the university, including Dean of the Continuing Education Department, Dean of Higher Vocational Education and Deputy Dean of Network Education School. In addition to his positions at Beijing Normal University, Mr. Li has been in leadership positions at various professional associations dedicated to education since 2005. He is currently Deputy Secretary of the National Colleges & Universities Modern Remote Education Collaboration, Vice President of Beijing Adult Education Association and Secretary of National Teachers’ Network Association. Mr. Li has published two books and over 20 articles on education related subjects. He received his M.A. in Social Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology & Folklore Studies and his B.A. in Chinese Literature from Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China.
Independent director
Yik C Chan has served as an independent director since May 2018. Since 2016, Mr. Chan has served as the Managing Director Asia of IAA-Advisory Associates, which provides specialized advisory services in leasing and asset finance in the areas of strategy and planning, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, vendor and captive finance, turnaround and restructures, international expansion and funding strategies. Before joining IAA, from 2012 to 2016, Mr. Chan served as Operating Partner of CITIC Capital, one of the largest private equity firms in China, where he operated in the non-bank financial services industry, including leasing, commercial factoring and supply chains financing. From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Chan served as Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions China, a provider of leasing and finance solutions, a position he held from the company’s inception in 2007. Mr. Chan is an experienced general manager and finance and treasury executive with more than 30 years’ experience in private equity, global leasing, supply chains, and structured finance in the US, Pan Asia and China. Mr. Chan is a Certified Public Accountant in the U.S., and received a B.A. in Accounting from Baruch College and an MBA from New York University.
Independent Director
Wenxiang Xing has been serving as an independent director since December 2018. Mr. Xing has been a professor of Central University of Finance and Economics since July 2008 and was a professor of China University of Geosciences from November 2005 to July 2008. Mr. Xing has previously served as a director of a number of companies. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hangzhou Jinjiang Group Ecology Technology Co., Ltd. since August 2016. From March 2000 to November 2005, he served as President of Yida Group Co., Ltd and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yida Group Investment & Development Co., Ltd. In addition, Mr. Xing has served as an independent director of other public companies. He served as an independent director of Fujian Longma Environmental Sanitation Equipment Co., Ltd from September 2010 to September 2016. He also served as an independent director of Yi Lianzhong Information Technology Co. Ltd. from June 2012 to June 2018. Mr. Xing received a Ph.D. in Chinese philosophy from Hebei University in 2010, a Master’s degree in Economics in 1994 from Liaoning University and a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1984 from the same institution.
