Yale University CEO Summit awards YIN Mingshan “Legend in Leadership Award” at 62nd CEO Leadership Summit October 11th in Shanghai

New Haven, Conn., October 8, 2010 — One hundred world renowned business leaders from the US, Europe, and Chin will convene to discuss : Leading Global Enterprises across  Global Cities: Aspirations, Realities; & Alternatives “ and to present its prestigious Legend in Leadership Award. to renowned entrepreneur YIN Mingshan,  Founder & Chairman of the Lifan Group.
 
Organized by the Yale School of Management’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute, the conference co-sponsors include: Deloitte; IBM; PepsiCo; UPS; Korn/Ferry International; North Highland; and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The award will be presented at Yale’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute CEO Summit  October 11th  at the Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai.
 
Among the conference participants are:  Deloitte Global Managing Partner Jerry Leamon; WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell; Maurice Greenberg; CEO C.V. Starr & Co;  Ambassador Philip Lader;  US Assistant Secretary of Transportation Joel Szabat;  Zhou Hammin, Director of the Executive Committee of Shanghai Expo 2010;    FAN Wenzhong, Director General China Banking Regulatory Commission; Stephen Roach, Chairman Morgan Stanley Asia; Lara Cha, Deputy Chair HSBC China; Mark Norborn, President & CEO GE Great China;  Jesse Wang of the Cina Investment Corporation; DENG Feng Managing Director of Northern Light Venture Capital; LI You CEO of Founder Inc;  Guofu Gao CEO China Pacific Insurance Co; SHAO Zili Chair & CEO JP Morgan China;  China historian Professor Jonathan Spence of  Yale;  Professor Zhiwu Chen economist of the Yale School of Management; Yale School of Management Dean Sharon Oster; Senior Associate Dean Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute ‘s President and conference organizer.
 
Professor Sonnenfeld commented,
We are thrilled to hold our 62nd CEO Summit in Shanghai.,  China’s largest city, the year China is designated the world’s second largest economy and the year it hosts World Expo 2010.  We are looking at the business implications of the Shanghai Expo inspiring theme “Better City, Better Life.”
 
 Thus we will consider “Leading Global Enterprises across Global Cities: Aspirations; Realities; and Alternatives” with global business leaders across sectors discussing new urbanization challenges to societal goals in commerce, transportation, communication, finance, technology, and sustainability, and general life quality.  We are drawing upon lessons learned in Shanghai and other mega cities around the world.
 
With transportation advances a key objective, we are especially proud to celebrate Mr. Yin Mingshan and the LIFAN Group. His personal model of leadership shows how courage and creativity can transcend personal adversity, ideological  hurdles, and engineering barriers to improve how people live .
 
The LIFAN Industry Group was created in 1992 with just nine people, including Mr. Yin Mingshan.  Today with 13,200 employees this private enteterprise has become the country’s third largest motor cycle manufacturer with motor cycle and automotive products sold around the world.  LIFAN holds more patents than any Chinese private enterprises with new advanced engine technologies.  Lifan’s  products have been widely sold to over 160 countries and areas all over the world. LIFAN Lifan is also a leader in electric cars with the capacity to produce up to 50 thousand electric cars per year now. Presently, Lifan has 25 electric cars serving the Expo in Shanghai has established motorcycle factories in Vietnam, Thailand and Turkey. LIFAN sedan has been off-line in Vietnam, Egypt, Russia, Iran and Ethiopia   They are just now entering beginning to sell cars in Australia and Brazil It has consistently ranked high in lists of top Chinese enterprises for its growth and innovation, such as # 88 in Forbes; list of Top Enterprises in China,  it is also well respected for its philanthropy.  In 2008, Yin and Lifan Group donated 2 Million RMB for the reconstruction after Wenshan Earthquake in Sichuan Province. In addition, by the end of 2008, he had established more than 100 Guangcai schools, which provide education to children in poor areas of China. Since 1992, Yin has donated a total of 6,413 million to the community of Lifan.
 
Yin Mingshan, Founder and Chairman of the Lifan Group, was born in 1940 in the city of Chongqing. During the Cultural Revolution in China, Yin spent 20 years in labor camps as a punishment for his capitalistic tendencies.. In 1992, he began his career building motorcycles. He invested 200,000 Yuan (around 30,000 USD) to establish a motorcycle workshop which later became today's Lifan Group.
 
Yin is a soccer fan. After the company became profitable, Yin acquired Hong Yan Huan Dao Club in 2000. In 2003, Yin acquired another soccer club named Yunnan Hongta. In 2008, in order to make his soccer club into the next level, he spent $6.8 Million to acquire Chongqing Longcin Club, which was in the Super League (highest level) of FIFA China.
 
From 1994 to 2003, Yin Mingshan was awarded several "Outstanding Entrepreneur" titles for establishing 10 high-tech zones in Chongqing. In 2000, Yin was given “Bauhinia Cup of Entrepreneurs" honorary title of the year by Hong Kong Polytechnic University.  2001, Yin won “Revitalization of Chongqing Contribution Award” due to the success of Lifan Group and was awarded “an honorable cause Medal” for Promoting the Guangcai Program (establishing schools for kids in poor areas of China).
 
In 2002, for "outstanding contributions and quality management" Yin won the "2002 Outstanding Contribution to the National Quality Management Award". The same year, The National Association of Industry and Commerce and the China Federation of Trade Unions jointly awarded the "Best Care for Employees of Private Entrepreneurs" title to Mr. Yin.
 
Past winners of the “ Yale Legend in Leadership Award” include: Alan Mulally of the Ford Motor Company; Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase;; Robert Iger of The Walt Disney Corporation; Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Group Roger Enrico of PepsiCo; John  Pepper of Proctor & Gamble; Don Keough of The Coca Cola Co.; The McKinsey founder Marvin Bower, Jim Kelly of UPS, Richard Teerlink of Harley-Davidson, , Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson,  Infosys Founder Nandan Nilekani; Lou Gerstner of IBM; and Anne Mulcahy of Xerox.
               
This event is the 63rd CEO Leadership Summit of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute. This part of the Yale School of Management is world’s first school for incumbent CEOs.  It was founded in 1989 to provide original research on leadership and lively, current educational forums through peer-driven learning for accomplished leaders across sectors.  To learn more about the CELI, visit: http://celi.som.yale.edu/ or  http://www.ceoleadership.org.
 
For an interview with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, or other participations, or to register for the Legend in Leadership Award presentation ceremony at 4pm in the Shanghai Peninsula Hotel, please contact joseph.delillo@yale.edu (404-307-6146); Dan Mullins dan.mullins@yale.edu (770-605-5032) ; or Vineet Handa vineet.handa@kaizzencomm.com,