What is China Speed? A Multinational Point of View

Tue, 9 Jun 2026 19:30 - 21:00

Member Price: Complimentary
Non-member Price: RMB 200
In-person event
Language: English

“China speed” is real—but can multinational leaders align HQ expectations with on-the-ground realities in China?

Book tickets

Image from Linkedln

Event Details

For multinational leaders in China, “China speed” is a daily reality. But how do you explain that pace—and pressure—to HQ offshore? Jonathan Shyu, GM China, IMA Asia, and Al Gabor, Operating Partner at Advent International and IMA Asia Forum Advisory Board Member, are back to push the debate further—following their earlier question: Can multinationals really win in China?

Jonathan Shyu is the General Manager and Forum Director for China at IMA Asia. He was formerly the Manager of AmCham Shanghai’s Yangtze River Delta Network and was Employee #1 in this network.

Allan Gabor is Operating Partner at Advent International and Forum Advisory Board Member at IMA Asia. He is also Chairman Emeritus of AmCham Shanghai and Former President of Merck China.

Admission includes wine and soft drinks.

Agenda

7:00 – 7:30 pm | Arrival & Registration
7:30 – 8:30 pm | Keynote Presentation + Q&A
8:30 – 9:00 pm | Networking

* The Chamber reserves the right to alter the above agenda at its sole discretion.

Disclaimer: By joining this event, you agree that photos, video, and audio recordings taken onsite may be publicly shared by the Chamber for promotional and communication purposes.

Notes:

In case of cancellation, please kindly note you must email the BritCham Shanghai Event staff eloise.zhang@britishchambershanghai.cn before 5 pm, 7 June. Due to the service charges of Glueup and online payment platforms, we can only partially refund up to 90% of your ticket price and payment will be processed within 14 days after the event via your original payment method. However, it is non-refundable for a cancellation request made beyond the above-mentioned timeframe.

The Speakers

Speaker

Jonathan Shyu
General Manager and Forum Director at IMA Asia

View profile

Speaker

Allan Gabor
Operating Partner at Advent International Forum;
Advisory Board Member at IMA Asia;
Chairman Emeritus of AmCham Shanghai;
Former President of Merck China

View profile

Allan Gabor

Operating Partner at Advent International Forum;
Advisory Board Member at IMA Asia;
Chairman Emeritus of AmCham Shanghai;
Former President of Merck China

Operating Partner at Advent International & Forum Advisory Board Member at IMA Asia & Chairman Emeritus of AmCham Shanghai & Former President of Merck China.

Allan Gabor was elected as the Chairman of AmCham Shanghai since Jan 2024. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, known as the “Voice of American business” in China, was founded in 1915. AmCham shanghai was the third American Chamber established outside the United States, and now has 2,800 members from 1,000+ companies.

Allan Gabor was the President of Merck China, and Managing Director of Merck’s Electronics business sector in China, since 2018. He was also a permanent member of Merck’s Electronics Leadership Team (ELEC). As President of Merck China, he was responsible for developing and driving growth strategies in this key country and building on the company’s 350-year presence and reputation.

Prior to this role, Mr. Gabor was the President of Asia Pacific for the biopharma business of the Merck Group and was also the President and CEO for the biopharma business in China. He was instrumental in expanding Merck’s Asian footprint with a series of investments, including establishing Merck’s new €170 million world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing facility located in the Nantong as well as building an extensive network of collaborations with leading academic and medical institutions.

Before joining Merck, Mr. Gabor spent 25 years at Pfizer in leadership roles including Chairman and General Manager for China, and Regional President for North Asia, Russia, India, Turkey and Eastern Europe. Mr. Gabor successfully directed the launch of many of Pfizer’s innovative medicines into China and opened the China Regional Investment Center and a state-of-the-art research and development center in Shanghai.

Currently as a Permanent Resident of Shanghai, Mr Gabor provides support to MNC’s and Chinese globalisers through his company, Shanghai Goal Advisory. He is actively partnering with leading organizations including Advent International, InterChina Partners and IMA and is on the Board of AmCham, Shanghai.

In recognition of his tireless contribution to Shanghai, Mr. Gabor has been awarded the Magnolia Award twice by the Shanghai municipal government. He holds a BA in Communications from the College of Wooster and pursued further education at the University of Tennessee and Harvard Business School.