China Alumni Footprint | Dancing with Qingdao: Yu Hongjuan’s life across boundaries (EMPAcc 2023)

CUHK Business School boasts a global alumni network of over 45,000, with a strong presence across China. Our new series, “China Alumni Footprint”, invites you to journey through different cities nationwide to discover alumni stories, their enduring ties with the land, and the local culture and emerging opportunities they’ve embraced.

To Yu Hongjuan (EMPAcc 2023), Qingdao is more than just home — it is the stage on which her life has unfolded. From early memories of standing in line at the market with a plastic bag to buy beer, to her current role leading operations for Haier’s comprehensive health and medical equipment division, every chapter of her story is closely tied to this city.

Following her parents to move to Qingdao at 11, Yu’s life has been intertwined with the city. “The blues of Qingdao’s ocean are so pure,” she describes. “Every brick in the old city area has a story.” What draws her to Qingdao is not only its picturesque natural beauty, but also its deep cultural roots. “As the birthplace of the May Fourth Movement, Qingdao has long been a haven for scholars and writers, with figures like Lao She and Shen Congwen leaving their mark here. Its distinctive collection of international architecture stands as a living testament to its layered history – and is not to be missed.” The historic charm of Qingdao’s red-roofed, tree-lined old town, together with its relaxed pace of life, clear sea, and wide blue skies, ultimately convinced Yu and her family to make it their home for good.

Two decades of dedication in the health industry

Yu Hongjuan has spent her entire academic life in Qingdao, and after graduating from university, she dove headfirst into the city’s largest enterprise — Haier Group. Nearly thirty years have flown by. Starting in finance and working her way through corporate management, from home appliances to healthcare, her career has been anything but linear. “I might just be the most ‘cross-disciplinary’ COO in the entire Haier system,” she says with a smile.

Today, Yu serves as COO of Yingkang Life, Haier Group’s medical equipment division, where she oversees overall operations. This unit plays a vital role in Haier’s comprehensive health industry ecosystem, with R&D, manufacturing, and sales hubs established in Qingdao as well as major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Yu’s calendar is packed with intercity flights — a reflection of the scale and complexity of the operation she helps lead.

As the company’s COO, Hongjuan Yu frequently travels to various cities in mainland China to share the latest company developments with employees.(Photo provided by the interviewee)

CUHK Business School: A gateway to expanding perspectives

Transitioning from a finance background to a leadership role in operations, where she now oversees everything from R&D and manufacturing to sales and international markets, Yu admits, “I was trained in finance and used to focus solely on the fine details of financial reports. But operational management demands a broader lens — an ability to think strategically and guide organisational transformation.” Looking back, Yu regards her EMPAcc studies as a defining turning point in her professional journey. “At the time, I was serving as CFO and began to seriously consider: if I aspired to reach the next level of leadership, how could I deepen my understanding of corporate management?”

When she hit a bottleneck in her career transition, the CUHK–SNAI EMPAcc programme became the key to unlock transformation. “One moment that truly stood out,” she recalls, “was Professor Xia Dawei’s course on game theory — it was a complete paradigm shift. I realised that business decision-making could be approached like a chess match. The programme’s extensive use of international case studies also challenged my long-held financial mindset and helped me develop a strategic, global perspectives on business”.

Completing the programme gave her a deeper insight: while the analytical thinking of a CFO is essential, it can sometimes limit the broader, systems-level perspective required of a COO. Yu believes that the global outlook cultivated by the EMPAcc programme has empowered her to analyse challenges in business management and operations more comprehensively and insightfully.

Yu Hongjuan (center) built a valuable network with classmates from different industries at CUHK business school.　(Photo provided by the interviewee)

An opportunity map for Qingdao’s next wave

Having witnessed Qingdao’s evolution firsthand, Yu Hongjuan highlights three emerging sectors offering strong prospects for the city’s emerging communities:

1) Film and media production

Qingdao’s film industry has blossomed into a structured and scalable model centred around the Oriental Movie Metropolis, a complex that has attracted the production of major domestic blockbusters like The Wandering Earth. Its dynamic ecosystem supports a full production pipeline and has fostered a pool of professional film talent, including stars like Huang Bo and Huang Xiaoming.

2) Ocean economy

Thanks to its extensive coastline and abundant marine biodiversity, Qingdao has established itself as a leader in marine biopharmaceuticals and deep-sea fisheries. It is home to some of the country’s top marine research institutions and talent development centres, contributing significantly to China’s overall marine economy. The city’s integrated ecosystem of industry, academia, and research continues to drive innovation and fuel the sustainable growth of its “blue economy”.

3) Silver economy

Population ageing is a nationwide challenge in China, and the healthcare and eldercare industries hold vast untapped potential. Qingdao is positioning itself at the forefront of this trend with the development of the “China Health Bay” in its high-tech zone. Anchored by institutions like the University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Qingdao Biomedical and Medical Device Industrial Park, the area has formed a comprehensive framework integrating medicine, education, research, and industry. With the rapid growth of fields such as rehabilitative medicine and smart eldercare, Qingdao is on track to become the most competitive hub for the silver economy in the Yellow Sea region.

A “must-try trio” in Qingdao:

Living in the scenic Badaguan area, Yu recommends her signature “three-in-one” Qingdao experience:

• hike to Taiqing Palace on Laoshan Mountain for cloud-gazing and quiet reflection,
• stroll the West Coast where the Rainbow Bridge stands at sunset, and
• finish with freshly made cuttlefish dumplings and hand-rolled buns at a local spot in the old town.

“This,” she says, “captures Qingdao’s dual spirit — where the slow, simple joys of life coexist with the dynamic rhythm of a globally connected economy.”

Shandong’s legendary oversized mantou: A single steamed bun larger than your head!

CUHK Business School alumni are everywhere, transcending geographical and industrial boundaries. To explore more inspiring alumni stories, please click HERE.