Cathy Huang
Chairperson of CBi China Bridge
Chair of the Shanghai Chapter of the Service Design Network (SDN)
Co-founder of the Successful Design Platform

Widely regarded as “China’s first person in service design,” Cathy Huang is a trailblazer in the field. Her academic and professional insights have set industry benchmarks, with her work featured three times in Fortune magazine. She has published five professional books, many of which are included in university teaching resources. Her bestseller, Service Design, won the annual Best Author Award from Huazhang Books.

As a leading advocate for service design, Cathy is a frequent guest at top-tier forums, including the China International Import Expo, WDCC Summit, LeadX private conferences, the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Forum, and livestream sessions with influencers like Liu Run.

Cathy also serves as an advisor to Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Antai College of Economics and Management, a board member of Tongji University’s Shanghai Alumni Association, and a guest lecturer at CEIBS. She has taught at renowned institutions such as the Royal College of Art, Parsons School of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Danish Design School.

Her belief in the power of service design drives her passion for sharing her vision. She co-founded and scaled Kaiba, a craft beer brand, pioneering the market in China and building it from scratch into a multi-million-dollar business, which was acquired by global beer giant AB InBev before the pandemic—a complete entrepreneurial journey from 0 to 1.

Before founding her ventures, Cathy worked at General Electric and Haier, gaining deep insights into the operations of large-scale corporations. In 2003, she founded CBi China Bridge, establishing it as a leader in service design and innovation for top-tier companies of today and the future. Nearly half of the companies on the world’s 50 Most Innovative Companies list have partnered with CBi, including Huawei, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil, 3M, Nestlé, Xiaomi, Bosch, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, Alibaba, Lenovo, and BMW. These collaborations have led to a wealth of replicable project experience and methodological expertise.

As a female entrepreneur, Cathy has received numerous accolades, including “China’s Top 500 Women in Branding,” “China’s Most Remarkable Women,” “Shanghai Women’s Contribution Award,” and the “Annual Female Leadership Award.” She has also been knighted as an Honorary Lady in Belgium, invited by the Rockefeller family as an anthropologist guest, and has traveled to nearly 30 countries, meeting with mayors and dignitaries worldwide.