James Liang is a Co-founder of Trip.com Group Ltd. He has been the Executive Chairman of the Board since 2003, and was the Chief Executive Officer in 2000 to 2006 and in 2013 to 2016. Under his visionary leadership, Trip.com Group has achieved great milestones over the years. The company has successfully carried out transitions from offline to online, and from desktop to mobile. Furthermore, Trip.com Group has made strategic investments in key industries, cultivated and invested in new business models, and established industry-leading operational standards and processes. Trip.com Group has grown to become one of the world’s largest online travel agencies. Currently, James serves as Co-Chairman of Tongcheng-eLong (HKSE:0780) and on the boards of a number of other listed companies, including Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) and MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ: MMYT). He is also Research Professor of Economics at Peking University. James has been awarded various accolades for his contributions to the travel industry. Some of his recent awards include: 2019 Forbes China Multinational Business Leader, Best CEO in the Internet category in the 2016 All-Asia Executive Team Rankings by Institutional Investor, 2016 Top Ten Economic Leaders of the Year by Sina Finance, 2015 China’s Business Leader of the Year by Forbes, 2015 Most Influential Business Leaders by China Entrepreneur Magazine, 2015 Top Ten Economic Leaders of the Year by Sina Finance, People’s Daily, and The Paper, 2015 China’s Most Transformative Leader by Sohu Finance, and 2015 China’s Best Business Leader by Yicai.com. In addition to his expertise in the travel industry, James is also a leading scholar of demographics and social studies. He has played an important role in shaping China’s population policies in recent years and in generating public interest in issues such as education and urban planning. As a co-author of the book Too Many People in China?, James analyzed the impact of the population-related policy and the effects of demographic changes to China’s economy. He is also the author of multiple publications, including The Rise of the Network Society, and his latest book published in 2018, The Demographics of Innovation. Prior to co-founding Trip.com Group, James held a number of technical and managerial positions at Oracle Corporation from 1991 to 1999, both in the United States and China. He was the head of the ERP consulting division of Oracle China from 1997 to 1999. James received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology. He was also an attendee of the “China Gifted Youth Class” at Fudan University.