Chen Dongsheng 陳東升

Company: Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd.,

Industry: Life insurance

Position: Chairman and CEO

Age: 54

Chen Dongsheng, who graduated from China's Wuhan University with a doctoral degree in economics, was once the associate editor of the Management World magazine under the Development Research Center of the State Council. Chen changed his role from a scholar to a businessman by founding China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd. in 1993, now China's largest auction company for artworks. Three years later, Chen stunned the business world again by establishing Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Chen drew upon the state-of-art expertise of more than 20 top-tier transnational insurers and constantly made innovative and successful business moves. His efforts have helped Taikang rapidly growing into the fifth largest domestic insurer in terms of premiums. It reported nearly 300 billion yuan (US$48 billion) in total assets, and more than 2 billion yuan(US$3.2 billion) in net profits in 2010. Taikang, in which Goldman Sachs holds a 12 percent stake, is seeking IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong in three years. Chen, backed with the capital market and his steadfast style, is a promising business leader for the future.