Neil Shen

Neil Shen (Chinese: 沈南鵬; pinyin: Shěn Nánpéng) is a Chinese Venture Capitalist and entrepreneur who is the founding and managing partner of Sequoia China, the Chinese arm of venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital. Prior to that, he was a co-founder of two companies, Ctrip.com and Home Inn.[1][2]

Neil Shen
沈南鵬
BornDecember 1967 (age 55)
Haining, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China
Alma materShanghai Jiaotong University
Yale University
Occupation(s)Venture Capitalist
Entrepreneur
TitleCo-founder of Sequoia China
Co-founder of Ctrip.com
Co-founder of Home Inn

He has been dubbed the most successful early-stage investor in China.[2][3]

Forbes has ranked him first on the Midas List in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023.[1]

In December 2022, Forbes put his net worth at $3.6 billion.[2]

Early life and education

Shen was born in Haining, Zhejiang in December 1967. He grew up in Shanghai and attended Shanghai No. 2 High School where he was called a math prodigy. He then attended Shanghai Jiao Tong University where he graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. Afterwards, he moved to the United States and attended Yale University graduating with a master's degree in management in 1992.[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Career

After graduation, Shen worked for Citibank in the United States for two years. In 1994, he moved to Hong Kong to work as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers. In 1996 he joined Deutsche Bank as director of China capital markets.[1][4][5][6][8]

Shen left the banking sector and in June 1999 co-founded Ctrip.com with James Liang, Neil Shen, Min Fan, and Qi Ji. He served as president of the company from August 2003 to October 2005. He oversaw the company's initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in December 2003.[4][5][6][8][9][10]

In 2002, Shen co-founded Home Inn as a joint venture between Ctrip and the Beijing Tourism Group. It was spun-off from Ctrip as a separate company before its IPO on the Nasdaq in 2006.[4][6][8][11][12]

In 2005, Shen co-founded Sequoia China with Zang Fan under the guidance of Sequoia Capital partners Michael Moritz and Douglas Leone. Shen was given full autonomy and led Sequoia China to make successful investment in various companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance, Meituan, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Qihoo 360, DJI, Vipshop.[3][4][5][6][8][9][13]

When managing partner, Douglas Leone retired in 2022 from Sequoia Capital, Shen was considered one of the potential successors. However the role went to Roelof Botha instead. Shen did not work as closely with the new leadership and has talked about going independent for years.[14]

In June 2023, Sequoia Capital announced its plans to split into three entities. Sequoia China led by Shen will be operating independently under the name HongShan which means Sequoia in Chinese.[5][13][14]

Personal life

Shen is married to an investment banker and has children.[1][3][9]

Shen currently holds Hong Kong citizenship and resides in Hong Kong.[1] He speaks Mandarin and English. He also has some proficiency in Cantonese.[3] Outside Hong Kong, Shen also has a mansion in Hainan where he often invites investors.[3][9]

Shen is current Chairman of the Yale School of Management Board of Advisors.[7]

In January 2018, Shen was elected to the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.[6][15] However in January 2023, The Information, reported that he was no longer a member.[16]

References
  1. "Neil Shen". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  2. Flannery, Russell. "Sequoia's Neil Shen Tops Forbes China Ranking Of Best Venture Investors". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  3. "Sequoia Capital's Neil Shen knows how to pick a winner". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  4. Konrad, Alex. "How Neil Shen Built A Winner At Sequoia Capital China". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  5. McMorrow, Ryan; Olcott, Eleanor; Wiggins, Kaye; Hammond, George (2023-06-09). "Neil Shen goes it alone in China after Sequoia split". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  6. CBNEditor (2019-03-10). "Neil Shen Nanpeng (沈南鹏) – China Banking News". Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  7. "Yale SOM Board of Advisors Gets New Leadership | Yale School of Management". som.yale.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  8. "How Sequoia's Neil Shen Built a China Powerhouse". The Information. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  9. Sender, Henny (2015-08-06). "Lunch with the FT: Neil Shen". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  10. Hennessey, Raymond (2003-12-15). "Ctrip International's Success As an IPO Has Others Hoping". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  11. "Home Inn Hotels looks to Nasdaq for US$80m". South China Morning Post. 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  12. "China's booming budget hotels profit from no frills | Reuters". 2014-08-08. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  13. "Sequoia will still stand tall in China after VC firm's breakup". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  14. O’Keeffe, Kate; Jin, Berber; Viswanatha, Aruna (2023-06-27). "Sequoia Made a Fortune Investing in the U.S. and China. Then It Had to Pick One". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  15. "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under spotlight at Two Sessions – People's Daily Online". en.people.cn. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  16. "Sequoia Capital China Chief Leaves Beijing's Top Political Advisory Body". The Information. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
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