Ties That Bind - Bay Area Council Economic Institute

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Ties That Bind
development of returning student science parks, and sponsorship of tech sector conferences and
delegations) have together served to reverse this trend since 1999.
A final, key component: In 2000, the Silicon Valley tech bubble burst, closing software and
Internet startup companies and redirecting venture capital sources. Opportunities did not dry up
in Asia, however, where markets for personal mobile communications, the Internet and enterprise
applications were exploding. And venture investment dollars could go farther in China, in
terms of taking new ideas to market.
HYSTA does for mainland PRC graduates and professionals in Silicon Valley what Monte Jade
does for native Taiwanese. It claims more than 2,000 members and its first annual conference in
2002—“Opportunities and Challenges: Riding the China Wave”—attracted 1,500 attendees. A
May 2005 invitation-only U.S.-China IT Executive Summit in Pebble Beach featured presentations
by Cisco Systems president and CEO John Chambers and Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang.
It was at the Pebble Beach event that Yang and Alibaba.com chairman Yun (Jack) Ma agreed in
concept on Yahoo!’s $1 billion investment in Alibaba, and turning over operational control of
Yahoo! to Alibaba in China.
In addition to its major conferences, HYSTA has an invitation-only Executive Club that provides
networking opportunities for Chinese-born senior-level executives and established entrepreneurs.
Its Venture Capital Group is a forum for networking and information-sharing that
connects businesses and entrepreneurs with venture investors. An Emerging Leaders Forum offers
management and leadership training and programs for young professionals, and a Distinguished
Speaker Series features seminars by business leaders, scholars and government officials
on China-related issues. Frequent programs also feature executives sharing their business and
personal career experiences as mentors. HYSTA has ties to many of the approximately 80 PRC
science parks such as Zhangjiang, Suzhou and Haidian (Zhongguangcun), and has established a
Beijing chapter.
HYSTA has gradually shifted its emphasis from entrepreneurship and startup incubation to innovation
and leadership, the theme of its 2006 Annual Conference. This transformation reflects
strong demand throughout China for bicultural managers who understand Chinese business
culture and practices and can also navigate the complex global corporate governance, tax, regulatory
compliance and standards landscape.