CEO
GIFT.ed and Senior Fellow, The Conference Board
Dan Wong is an expert in the fields of digital transformation, AI change management, and innovation – with over 20 years of experience in Greater China, Asia, and Silicon Valley. During Dan’s career, he has had both the fortune and misfortune of weathering successive waves of industry upheaval and dislocation accumulating hard-earned lessons where practice often diverges from theory. He has spearheaded digital transformation at companies like Nokia (feature-phone to smart-phone transition) where he ran a $1.9B USD business; Samsung (hardware to software transition); and at MTR Corporation where he was GM of Global Innovation. As CEO of GIFT.ed, Dan leverages technology to provide courseware Dan Wong is an expert in the fields of digital transformation, AI change management, and innovation – with over 20 years of experience in Greater China, Asia, and Silicon Valley.
During Dan’s career, he has had both the fortune and misfortune of weathering successive waves of industry upheaval and dislocation accumulating hard-earned lessons where practice often diverges from theory. He has spearheaded digital transformation at companies like Nokia (feature-phone to smart-phone transition) where he ran a $1.9B USD business; Samsung (hardware to software transition); and at MTR Corporation where he was GM of Global Innovation. As CEO of GIFT.ed, Dan leverages technology to provide courseware and employee engagement that unleashes the potential of organizations at scale.
Across these initiatives, the most difficult part of change has always been the human dimension, which is now deeply evident with the rise of AI. Applying AI in a way that moves the needle requires system-level thinking, an understanding of the practical pitfalls, and a rethinking of the way organizations operate.
Dan’s AI journey started in 2014 as CEO of startup Rokid, where his team leveraged machine learning to develop award-winning voice recognition and smart home technologies. Subsequently, Dan was an advisor to several startups applying AI technology to manufacturing, retail, consumer products, and other sectors. At MTR, Dan drove and implemented over 30 AI projects. He has direct insight into the power as well as inherent limitations and pitfalls of this technology.
Fully fluent in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Dan is an Adjunct Professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University’s Antai School of Business, one of the top MBA Programs in Asia. He teaches a popular MBA course on AI, Product Management, and Product Innovation. Dan holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as BS Electrical Engineering and MS Materials Science from Stanford University.