Sustainable Transition for SMEs: Prospects for Business Growth and Challenges in Change Management

Founder and Managing Partner of D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel, and Founder of DP Group.

Carlo Diego D’Andrea graduated in Law at the University of Teramo (Italy). He then obtained a Masters’ degree in Corporate Advisor at LUISS University in Rome and a Diploma in Chinese Studies at Nanjing Normal University and is a member of the Italian Bar Association.

Mr. D’Andrea arrived in China in 2005 and is fluent in Italian (mother tongue), English, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. He mainly deals with cross-border mergers and acquisitions, assistance in ODI/FDI and intellectual property rights.

He is also acting as National Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and Chairman of the Shanghai Chapter.

Liam Jia is a versatile professional with the past 8 years advising European businesses on market access and business strategies to China. He has a solid working experience in project and operations management, financial and risk control in the EU context.

Liam is an experienced speaker and author of publications on a range of topics, including the environmental sector, SME digitalisation and F&B distribution. Great team player, generating positive influence on teammates.

Isabelle Grippa studied International Relations at ULB. She then went on to complete an additional Master’s degree at the Institute of European Studies, for which she attained a distinction. As a social dialogue specialist, she began a career in the institutions of Brussels dealing with socioeconomic issues as a parliamentary attaché, and as coordinator of the Brussels New Deal for employment and training. As an economic advisor for two Minister Presidents, she was responsible for launching and coordinating the Brussels 2025 Strategy before a brief period working at Actiris.

As a lover of Brussels, a feminist campaigner, a mum and step mum to six children, Isabelle became Executive Director of hub.brussels in September 2018. She became the youngest CEO of a Brussels institution. Having Isabelle Grippa at hub.brussels brings new wind to a new Agency… With her 360 hubsters, she’s an ardent defender of the issues she holds dear, namely entrepreneurship as a driver of positive impact, the emancipation of society and its accessibility to all, the environmental transition, resilience, and more.

Roberto Donà is an academic and a business practitioner with a long experience in China. He is a Professor of Practice in Management at IBSS, the business school of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, where he served in different academic leadership roles, among those the latest was Associate Dean for Corporate Affairs.
Previously, he was a faculty member of SDA Bocconi School of Management and Bocconi University since 1990, Visiting Scholar (1996) and Visiting Professor (1998) at Stern School of Business (New York University) and Visiting Professor, Fudan University School of Management (2008-2010), Honorary Professor at the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the University of Chinese Academy of Science and Visiting Professor at Fudan University. Roberto has strong international exposure having worked in Russia, Bulgaria, Argentina, the USA and China. Since the beginning of his career, he has worked in advisory roles for both domestic and international companies, serving in several board positions.
Roberto is a representative of IBSS in the Shanghai Chapter of the European Chamber since 2014 and he is a member of the Investment WG. He was elected Board Member of the Shanghai Chapter in 2021.

Mailei Li has worked with both the social and private sector in China and U.S. for more than 14 years. She has gained appreciation and respect for the challenge of supporting and developing sustainable programmes and organisations that have a long-term impact on our communities and society. She holds a Master’s degree of Nonprofit Management and “Sustainable Capitalism and ESG” certificate from University of California, Berkeley – School of Law. Support in Strategic advising, stakeholders communication, build the resilience for the SMEs and NGOs in the changing world.

With a master’s degree in carpentry, Kay Thiede has been tackling international shop fitting challenges since 1983. Whether it’s stores for high‐end fashion brands, broadcasting studios, exhibitions, showrooms, VIP lounges for airlines, factory and office buildings, fire prevention systems, or simply product design, Kay has brought 40 years of experience, leaving his mark in design, shop fitting, project management, budgeting, time control, and onsite management across all continents.

After gaining a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Jimmy Liang joined Waste Treatment Technologies Netherlands B.V. (WTT) in 2017 and was appointed as Managing Director in China in 2019. He has established a professional local team, supplier network and mature partnership network from 0 to 1, fully responsible (P&L) for managing and developing waste treatment business in China and successfully won several bids of solid waste treatment projects using Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) technologies. With the Jieyang project facility standing as a beacon of innovation in sustainable waste management practices, WTT China has been awarded the Circular Economy Pioneer 2023 award at the European Chamber Sustainable Business Awards (SBA).

Ioana Kraft has been based in Shanghai since 2003 where she worked for the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (European Chamber) from 2004 to 2022. From 2009 to 2022 she served as General Manager of the Chamber’s Shanghai Chapter and was responsible for implementation and development of European Chamber objectives, visibility, and advocacy activities on a regional level in Shanghai and neighbouring regions.

Ioana is currently an Associate Director with X-PM Transition Partners, a leading European Executive Interim and Transition Management firm with teams in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. X-PM is part of the WIL group, a network of 13 firms operating in 35 countries that deliver interim and transition solutions to clients around the world and offers a unique international “multi-sourcing” model that leverages the assets of each member firm and ensures the best assignments globally.

A German-qualified lawyer, Ioana practiced with a German law firm in Shanghai from 2003 and 2004. She also holds a PhD degree in law from Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, where she worked from 1999 to 2003 as a Senior Research Assistant focussing on the areas of Civil Law, Insurance Law, Comparative Law, International Private Law and Labour Law.