On May 21st, a delegation led by John Dugan, Chairman of the Board of Citigroup, visited the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The visit was hosted by Guangshao Tu, Founding Chair of the SAIF Board, with participation from senior executives including Marc Luet, CEO of Citigroup Japan, North Asia and Australia; Aveline San, CEO of Citigroup Hong Kong and Macau; Jie Huang, Vice President of Citibank (China); Shijun Cheng, Executive Dean of SAIF; Xinan Zhang, Secretary of the CPC SAIF Committee; and Yong Zhang, Associate Dean of SAIF.
Professor Tu opened the meeting by reflecting on SAIF's remarkable 16-year journey, supported by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He emphasized the institute's dual mission of cultivating next-generation financial talent and developing strategic think tanks to advance China's high-quality economic development. Professor Tu acknowledged Citigroup's significant contributions to this effort, noting that the institution's consistent recruitment of SAIF graduates serves as concrete evidence of their successful partnership.
Building on this foundation, Professor Tu proposed deepening collaboration across three key areas: talent development, frontier finance research, and academic forums. This enhanced partnership would align with Shanghai's accelerating transformation into a leading international financial center, creating mutual benefits for both institutions.
Chairman Dugan praised SAIF's educational excellence while outlining Citigroup's global operations and strategic presence in China. He emphasized that today's evolving economic landscape and rapid AI advancement create unprecedented demand for exceptional financial talent. This dynamic environment, he noted, presents compelling opportunities for expanded cooperation between Citigroup and SAIF.
The productive dialogue concluded with substantive discussions on global economic trends, financial technology innovation, and artificial intelligence applications in finance.
