Our Team
Chair of the Board
Professor Xiaolan Fu 
Professor Xiaolan Fu is the Professor of Technology and International Development and Founding Director of the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD), of the Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Her research interests include innovation and technology policy and management, trade, foreign direct investment and economic development. Her current research concerns innovation collaboration, digital technologies and inclusive development, knowledge transfer within and between organisations, and green innovation policy. She was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Governing Council of the Technology Bank of the UN, and to the Ten-Member High Level Advisory Group of the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism. Her recent books include Innovation under the Radar, China’s Path to Innovation, China’s Role in Global Economic Recovery, and The Rise of Technological Power in the South. Professor Fu received the EFMD Gate2Growth 2005 ‘European Best Paper’ Award, the 2017 EURAM Annual Conference ‘Best Paper’ Award, and the 2018 International Business Review ‘Best Journal Paper’ Award. She has been awarded research grants from the ESRC, EPSRC, DFID, British Academy, and European Commission.
Managing Director
Professor Yu Xiong
Professor Xiong is the Associate Dean International of Surrey University. This is a university-wide role that enables him to work with the university‘s three faculties, and more than 20 schools/departments on international collaborations. Professor Xiong was recently appointed as the director of the newly established Centre for Innovation and Commercialization. He is also Chair of Business Analytics at the Surrey Business School and is an academic member of the Department of Business Transformation. Prior to joining Surrey University, he worked for the University of York (as EPSRC Research Fellow). He has also worked for Queen's University Belfast (as Lecturer and Director of China Management Research Institute), the University of East Anglia (as Associate Professor and Associate Director of External Engagement for Norwich Business School, and Director of the University's ADAPT Group, which had a £50 million venture capital fund), and Northumbria University (as Professor and Director of Enterprise Engagement, Faculty Lead for Knowledge Exchange and Head of the Supply Chain Management Group). During his academic career, he has brought in more than £26 million income to the universities and businesses that he has been associated with (research income, donations, investments, etc.).
Board Director
Professor Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
Professor Sánchez-Ancochea is the Head of Department at the Oxford Department of International Development, and Professor of Political Economy of Development at the University of Oxford. His research explores development processes in the global South, with a particular focus on Latin America. He has written extensively on industrial policy and economic transformation, social policy and income inequality. He is the author of two books with Juliana Martínez Franzoni and co-editor of four books and a special issue on varieties of capitalism in Latin America. Professor Sánchez Ancochea has published papers in international journals like Development Policy Review, the Journal of Latin American Studies and World Development. He is the Associate Editor of Oxford Development Studies, and has collaborated with various international institutions including the World Bank, UNDP and the ILO. Professor Sánchez-Ancochea has a BA in Economics from the Universidad Complutense, an MA in Public Administration from the Instituto Ortega y Gasset and a PhD in Economics from the New School for Social Research. His most recent book is The Costs of Inequality: Lessons and Warnings for the Rest of the World (Bloomsbury, 2020).
Team Members
Chief Operating Officer
Peng (Steven) Xiong
Steven is the President of the British Hunan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has rich entrepreneurial experience in IT, finance, and restaurant chain industries, and has established many competitive companies such as Trinal Genius, Yuan Capital, Miqilin Food, etc.
Chief Business Officer
Jiandang (George) Wang
George has more than 20 years of cooperate finance and investment experience, including leading positions in Everbright Finance, Comarketing UK, Crowncare Group, Revolution Security, and China Haohua Group. During his career he has actively involved with innovation start-up venture capitals, development capital, private placing, privatisations and M&A activities. He has led or co-lead transactions for a wide range of companies in the UK, Europe, Asia emerging markets and across a wide range of sectors, including particularly renewable energies, AI, biotech, MedTech, healthcare, blockchain, ecommerce, infrastructure, property and resources.
Chief Technology Officer
Jingcheng (Jack) Gu
Before joining OVA, Jack worked at Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division and was involved in a series of landmark transactions, including the dual-primary listings of Lufax Holding and BOSS Zhipin in Hong Kong. Jack was also a member of Rothschild & Co's Global Advisory team and participated in several cross-border M&A transactions in the Greater China region. Prior to that, he was part of Accenture's strategy team in the UK.
Managing Director for OVA China
Shaoqun Shi
Shaoqun has a 20-year background in business development, investment, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). With extensive experience in pioneering and developing the Chinese market, he has established a wide network of connections with many Chinese enterprises.
Data Scientist
Yuzhen Li
Yuzhen is a skilled and enthusiastic data scientist with many years of professional experience. Her expertise lies in leveraging data to derive valuable insights and drive informed decision-making. She has a strong background in data analysis, machine learning, and data visualization.
Project Manager
Xuechen (Luna) Ding
Postdoctoral researcher at Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD), University of Oxford (2021-2022). She received her PhD in Management from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Xuechen has worked as a core member on a wide range of innovation-related projects, such as academic entrepreneurship, digital technologies and innovation, business model innovation, and radical innovation. She has rich project experience in digital economy and Internet and smart manufacturing industries.
Business Development Consultant
Alex Weir
Advisory Board
Chas Bountra
Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford
Myron Scholes
Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences
Mark Logan
Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton North East
Lord Timothy Clement-Jones
Co-Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence
Rachel Free
Rachel is a partner at CMS. She is a UK and European patent attorney with an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and a DPhil in vision science. She helps clients protect their technology through patents in a wide variety of fields, including AI, software, construction, infrastructure and telecommunications. She also provides training and advice regarding AI ethics and AI regulation.
Yaochu Jin
Pro Yaochu Jin is presently Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Artificial Intelligence, Chair of Nature Inspired Computing and Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Germany, and Distinguished Chair in Computational Intelligence, Department of Computer Science, University of Surrey, United Kingdom.