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Jean Liu (柳青)

President

DiDi

POSITION

President

COMPANY

DiDi

COUNTRY

China

Website

DiDi

SCENE

Technology

SOCIAL

LinkedIn

Twitter

What makes Jean Liu a Global Shaker?

Jean Liu, also known as Liu Qing (柳青), is the woman who defeated Uber in China. She is the president of DiDi Chuxing, China’s largest mobile transportation program. Founded in 2012, Didi serves 550 million users in over 400 cities. In 2016, Uber sold its China operations for a 20 percent stake in Didi, a $35 billion deal.

As one of China’s most powerful businesswomen, Jean has received dozens of honors over the years, including TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women International, and Working Mother’s 50 Most Powerful Moms.

“My feeling is that there are more women in China in tech than in other industries,” Jean said in an interview with The Financial Times. “In the internet era, the key to a successful business is understanding the customers’ expectations — and half the customers are women.”

Jean is the daughter of well-known Chinese entrepreneur Liu Chuanzhi, the founder of Lenovo technology company. She is also the granddaughter of Liu Gushu, a senior executive banker at the Bank of China.

Jean graduated from Peking University with a bachelor’s in computer science before moving to Harvard University to complete a master’s in the same field. She has received an honorary doctorate in commercial science from New York University.

In late 2015, she announced to the company that she would be receiving treatment for breast cancer. She returned to work after two months of treatment.

Last updated: April 23, 2019