Yibin (Ken) Zhao

Yibin (Ken) Zhao is a global affiliate visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) for 2025-26. Zhao has over 25 years experience in general insurance and has held senior leadership roles, including CEO of CMA CGM Insurance for Asia Pacific, Head of China for Swiss Re Corporate Solution, and executive positions at Zurich Insurance, where he helped international insurers navigate regulatory landscapes and build distribution channels. His recent work has focused on financial product innovation and strategic investment. Ken received both his Master and Bachelor degrees in Information Science from East China Normal University and is an associate of the British Chartered Insurance Institute. While at APARC, he will research manufacturing to consumption: rethinking China's economic transition through U.S. and Japanese pathways to consumption-led growth.