Is there a Talent War? Exploring the shifts shaping China’s Talent in 2025

Fabrizio is the current Chair of BritCham Shanghai’s People & Culture Committee, and Managing Partner at SBA, a People Strategy and Organisational Development advisory firm founded in Shanghai in 1982. Having worked in the Organisational Development and people Strategy fields in China for over a decade, Fabrizio is a specialised consultant and an advisor to businesses ranging from Small and Medium Enterprises to Fortune 500 Multinational Corporations in China, Asia, and globally. Over the years, he has developed and deployed solutions for international clients such as Alibaba Group, BP, Boston Scientific, Chanel, Diageo, Eaton Corporation, IDEO, JLR, Pirelli, and Sabic among others.

Samantha graduated in the UK with two degrees in finance and is a Partner at Page Executive, the executive search division of Page Group. She specializes in senior executive searches for the consumer goods, retail, and services industries in China.

Samantha has extensive experience recruiting executives in sectors such as retail, consumer goods, food & beverage, consumer technology, e-commerce, consulting, and ESG. Her clients include publicly listed domestic enterprises, SMEs, and multinational corporations from Europe and North America.

For the past 12 years, she has focused on recruiting for key positions in China, including General Manager, Sales & Marketing Director, VP/Director of Sales, and VP/Director of Marketing. Recently, she has been actively engaged in executive search projects for consumer goods companies expanding their overseas operations.

Samantha is a two-star member of Page Group’s Millionaire Club, with a personal cumulative performance exceeding RMB 28 million. She is also a member of the Platinum Club and 888 Club and leads the consumer goods and retail division in China. She consistently ranks among the top in regional customer satisfaction surveys.

14+ years of experience in Talent Acquisition. Prior background includes international business development experience, demonstrating a versatile career spanning recruitment strategy, leadership hiring, and cross-functional organizational growth.

Roy Ren is an experienced Senior Director at Fragomen’s Shanghai office. With more than 18 years of experience in immigration consultancy and global mobility, Roy serves as an Account Manager and manages a wide range of clients including global, regional and local corporations. Roy leads a team of immigration professionals to deliver China immigration consultancy and compliance services. In addition to some of the key operational functions in the Shanghai office,

Roy is also responsible for liaising with immigration authorities across China. Roy is a frequent speaker on China immigration matters. Prior to joining Fragomen, Roy was responsible for global mobility services for China immigration and consular matters into other jurisdictions at a global organization. Roy also has in-house human resources experience and experience working for a government department.

I am a full professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), the largest and arguably most successful sino-foregn joint venture university in China. Since august 2023, I have been employed as the first Chief Officer of (Education) Ecology, a role created to rethink the Education Ecology of the university, taking into account new ways of understanding and improving the learning environments involving complex elements such as people, spaces, technologies, activities, and outcomes. From August 2019 until August 2023, I was the first Associate Principal of the Entrepreneur College (Taicang), part of XJTLU, with responsiblity for developing the College and the campus it is located on. Launched in September 2022, I developed seven industry-themed schools, each of which have technology at the core, and a unique entrepreneurial platform named the Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Hub. I also developed and implemented the University’s unique Syntegrative Education model within the Campus, which integrates entrepreneurial education within science and technology disciplines, with the support of government. Professor Perrin developed and launched an innovative MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which has seven industry pathways in Business, Circular Economy, Creative Technology, Enterprise Governance, Innovation and Succession, FinTech, Smart Cities and Technology Transfer Management, and provides students with the opportunity to establish their own business through industry and academic mentors. Before taking up this role, I was the inaugural Dean for Learning and Teaching (2013-2017), before going on to take up the position of Dean for International Affairs (2017-2019). I have been in China and the university for over 11 years, first joining in August 2012.