Cynthia Wang

Children at ISB: Grade 7 : naijing@yahoo.com

1.	Please provide a brief statement of interest as to why you want to run for the Board.
	I’m the head of the Beijing office and Managing Director at a European investment bank. I’m also the career mentor for graduate students at Tsinghua University and Renmin University. My strength in strategy and communications has helped many organizations solve complex problems. The world is changing rapidly, with new technologies emerging and new events affecting international relations almost constantly. How do we help ISB better prepare our children to face the challenges and opportunities? Can we do more to build a culture for excellence, improve the curriculum and support the teachers, and give our children a head-start compared to their peers? I believe the board needs to update our strategy to address these pressing issues, and can work better with the community to implement the solutions. Moreover, I want to promote better communications among all stakeholders of ISB, including the leadership, teaching staff and parents. Only through communication can we align our interests and efforts to pursue the best path forward. Our governance structure and community culture demand a stronger partnership between the school and the parents. If elected, I will be a facilitator and advocate for this partnership.
2.	In what ways have you supported ISB and/or other schools your children have attended?
	As a firm believer in the power of communications, I have organized regular dialogues with the new Head of School to discuss the school’s strategic and operational priorities. For these meetings, we made special effort to include a diverse group of parents representing various cultural and professional backgrounds, as well as the grade-levels of their children attending ISB. Such meetings have proven to be constructive and we generated several ideas to strengthen the community partnership. Working closely with homeroom parents and PTA members, I have volunteered for many school activities, including International Day (China and North America team) and Spring Fair. As a finance and economic professional, I gave talks to ISB students on career development and world economy. For example last year I presented “International Finance and World Economic Order” to students ranging from G3 – G9, with a focus on the European Union. This year, I also volunteered for Future’s Academy to be a mentor for the entrepreneurship project.
3.	How will your skills and prior experience (volunteer or paid) benefit the Board of Trustees and ISB?
	I want to reiterate the urgency for change. ISB has enjoyed decades of prominence since its inception, as a pioneer in educational innovation and global mindedness. Yet we cannot afford to stop reinventing ourselves, because our environment is evolving and our competitors are catching up. We need a forward-looking board that has the vision and resources to formulate and implement our strategy. My strong suit is finance and strategy, which could supplement the skillset of other board members in achieving the long term goal of ISB. I also have a deep understanding of governance principals and strong bi-lingual communication skills. Having advised corporations, research institutions and government entities, I am fluent in the general practices at the board level. My personal journey from an engineering background, educated by Tsinghua University in China and Carnegie Mellon University in the US, to professional success in investment banking at a European powerhouse, could also be inspiration for our next generation. I believe my strong professional background will be an asset to the board and the school.

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