The global licensing community is powered by an incredible group of professionals whose diverse backgrounds and creative energy drive innovation and excellence. We profile one of these professionals each week, and in this special edition of the People Profile series we are introducing one of the 2024 Rising Stars Award recipients to shine a spotlight on their success.

How did you get into licensing (or how did licensing find you)?
After graduating from art school, I started working in a gallery dealing with art derivatives, which slowly introduced me to the licensing industry. Later, I joined a gaming company where I worked on SNK game licensing in China. Eventually, I joined Alifish, officially entering the licensing field.

What’s a “typical” day in your current position?
I spend a lot of time on business trips, usually spending about half of each month visiting clients in different cities. A typical day includes meetings with clients to discuss project details, team business planning sessions, and other meetings. My workday runs from 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM, and I often continue communicating with clients about project updates after hours.

What’s your biggest personal or professional accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment was leading the team to secure the exclusive licensing agency for Sanrio in China. Following this, I successfully led the hardline group to complete the transition for over 70 clients within a few months and effectively planned the product lines and overall business strategy.

What are the most significant trends or changes that you’ve seen in the business in recent years?
From a content perspective, the influence of Japanese IPs in the international market has been growing. In terms of product lines, a new hit emerges every one to two years. For example, five years ago it was blind boxes, followed by badge acrylic products in recent years, and this year it’s soft vinyl plush toys and assembly toys.

What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest challenge these days?
The biggest challenge is how to enhance the sustainable competitiveness of content and accurately predict the next hit product lines, helping clients build long-term successful businesses.

In your opinion, what is the top skill every licensing executive should have in order to succeed?
Hard work and dedication are essential, but loving the industry is the key. It requires a strong intrinsic motivation and curiosity. Along the way, there will definitely be pressure and setbacks, but maintaining passion is crucial for continually striving for excellence in this industry.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, or what’s your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is a traditional saying from Alibaba: “Today’s best performance is tomorrow’s minimum requirement.” It inspires me to keep striving for improvement and growth.

What is your favorite licensing deal of all time? (It doesn’t have to be one that was signed by you.)
My favorite project is the collaboration between Toptoy and Sanrio. Initially, it was estimated to have annual sales of just over 10 million yuan, but it has developed into a project generating billions in GMV over two years.

If you weren’t in licensing, what would you be doing now?
If I weren’t in licensing, I might be a sculptor now, since I graduated with an art degree in sculpture.

The last licensed product I bought was…
A Sanrio blind box from Pop Mart.

What does it mean to you to be named a Rising Star?
Being awarded as a Rising Star provides me with more chances to showcase myself and raise my passion to continue to succeed in this industry.

The Rising Star Awards recognize the next generation of leaders around the world for their commitment, passion, and contributions to their company and the licensing industry. This year’s Rising Stars will be recognized and celebrated at the Hall of Fame Gala Luncheon in New York City on December 4th, 2024.