Best Emerging Talent Pool 2023

As JKR’s China CEO, Jacquelien oversees the firm’s overall operations, is responsible for the company’s strategy and transformation, and drives its future growth. She’s a seasoned executive with 18+ years of experience across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, where she has helped leading brands with their business growth, digital transformation and brand innovations. She has spent the last 12 years in China.

Jacquelien holds an Executive MBA from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), an MBA, and MA in International Business and Management, and a BA in Communications.

In addition to her work as CEO China at JKR, Jacquelien is a frequent speaker, and guest lecturer on topics including Branding, Strategy, Women Leadership,  and as well a mentor for selected founders at the Orbit Startup programme- part of SOSV, a global venture capital firm with over US$1.3 billion in aum.

She sits on the Executive Committee of the board at the Benelux Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, on the British Chamber of Commerce Creative Industries and Marketing Committee and is the Chair of the Dutch Marketing Network in Shanghai since 2019.

Having been in and out of China since she was eleven, Jacquelien has a deep passion for China and its culture. While not working, she loves to spend her time with her family enjoying outdoor adventures, volunteers as a Troop Leader of the Girl Scouts Shanghai, and finds miraculously some pockets of time to express herself through her paintings which have randomly popped up at showings around town.

Barry is one of the most trusted names in the Asia industry.

Over the years his role, along with his influence, has grown from VFX supervisor to creative director and now director.

As creative director he has worked along side some of the biggest names in the industry and being responsible for the visual and technical output for some truly outstanding campaigns.

Taking inspiration from working with such esteemed collaborators, Barry has forged a career as a strong visual director with projects ranging from lifestyle, beauty and full CG animations with their own unique style.

Yuan Yuan Jin is the founder of YYO COMMUNICATIONS. Based in Shanghai, YYO is a leading creative boutique with a strong international vision within the fashion industry.

Established since 2007, YYO is an artist management and creative photo production company. Over the past 10 years, we have developed strong international networks with top visual artist agencies, premier production houses and design studios around the world.

By collaborating with celebrities, publications, brands and designers, we produce international fashion editorials, advertising campaigns, fashion films, show presentations, creative events, photo exhibitions, as well as cross-over projects.

YYO has been a strategic partner with Shanghai Fashion Week since 2014, and has since successfully launched YYO Foundation to support young creative talents in fashion.

Haizhen Wang was among the first wave of independent designers to graduate from Central Saint Martins. After honing his skills in London, he burst onto the scene in 2011 by winning the International Fashion Fringe Award. Christopher Bailey, then Burberry’s chief creative officer, praised him as “effortlessly talented with vision in his blood”. Following the competition, Haizhen Wang launched his eponymous brand.

Alex Mok co-founded Linehouse in 2013 with Briar Hickling. Linehouse is a collaboration of like-minded individuals from various backgrounds and cultures. The practice has international experience with a portfolio of work in China, Asia Pacific and Europe, from the small scale and the intricate, to the grand and public. Linehouse operates as a platform to investigate the rituals of inhabitation and how these daily moments can be celebrated through design, transforming the mundane into performative acts.

Alex Mok’s design work has been recognised internationally, and has won a number of international design awards. In 2019 Linehouse was awarded Emerging Interior Designers of the Year by Dezeen, one of the world’s most influential architectural design websites

One of the 3 founders of A00. Sacha is an expert in the field of hospitality and structure re-use, and is passionate about the design of ‘Testing the Sustainability of Creativity and Materials’, his projects pursue new innovations and ways to give new life and purpose to materials and spaces. Years of consistent pursuit for the highest environmental awareness have earned A00 a high level of respect and notoriety in the industry in China and abroad.

With 20 years experience, Sacha has completed more than 130 projects in China and Sri Lanka, including the acclaimed URBN Hotel (The first carbon-neutral Hotel in Asia), Taian Table SH( 3 Michelin stars restaurant ),  Stiller GZ ( 1 Michelin star) , and La Cocotte’s concept restaurant in HZ. His architecture firm (A00 Architecture) has been awarded “AD 100 : Most Influential Architects in China” list 5 consecutive times since its inception.

A graduate from both architecture (McGill University M.Arch) and interior design ( Dawson College) , Sacha brings this dual perspective to all his work, from new homes to the small details of function.

Sam is an accomplished and forward-thinking design leader with a strong strategic mindset and approach toward human centred innovation. With over 17 years of experience in global brand transformation leading teams at Imagination, IDEO and Gensler, Sam has demonstrated the ability to drive integrated human experiences that elevate market share, boost brand awareness, generate revenue, and create enduring value for people and business.

Having honed his skills as an interior architect in London, Sam’s passion for experience design led him to China in 2010. As the Group Creative Director at Imagination, Sam played a pivotal role in expanding the core business of digitally integrated brand experience into the realms of retail and placemaking across Greater China.

In 2019, Sam embarked on a new chapter at IDEO, bringing ethnographic research expertise and business-driven approach to design challenges. At IDEO, Sam’s portfolio boasts high-profile design programs that unearth value drivers for innovative products, services, and experiences.

Working at the intersection of business, design, and technology, with a deep commitment to human-centric strategies, he guide’s Gensler’s internal and client teams in unlocking design innovation for the ways in which we live, work and play.

Agnes Cohade is a founder and co-owner of Art+ Shanghai Gallery. Originally from France, she holds a degree from the French Business School and a Master of Science in Business Administration from Pennsylvania State University. Cohade lived in various countries, including Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Singapore, and Switzerland, for 18 years before relocating to China in 2005. Her extensive international experience provided her with exposure to diverse art and cultures. Fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and proficient in Chinese, Cohade has served as one of the managing directors of Art+ Shanghai Gallery since its opening in 2007.

Hymn was born and bred in The Netherlands and graduated from Willem de Kooning Academy. He is the founder of Studio Both Sides, a motion design boutique that specializes in creating slick and minimal animations for brands and digital interfaces. Additionally, the studio develops tools and products that inspire Both Sides Thinking.