James Zimmerman is the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China).

Based in Beijing, James is a author and lawyer who has lived and worked in China for three decades. He is a partner with the law firm of Loeb & Loeb LLP and advises foreign companies on corporate, transactional, regulatory, litigation and white-collar criminal defense matters. James previously served as Chairman of AmCham China for four prior terms in 2007-08 and 2015-16. He is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction book, The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China.

Michael Hart is President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), based in Beijing. He has over 25 of business experience in Asia, including more than 20 years in mainland China.

As President, Michael oversees all advocacy, programs, partnerships, and insights provided by the Chamber to support the business growth of nearly 1,000 foreign corporations operating in China, including most of the US Fortune 500. The Chamber’s advocacy includes the American Business in China White Paper and China Business Climate Survey, each published annually, as well as numerous interactions with both the US and Chinese governments on behalf of our members.

Prior to joining AmCham China, Michael spent most of his career in commercial real estate in Taipei, Shanghai, and Tianjin, including almost 20 years for NYSE-listed property services firm, JLL. He started in the research division briefing real estate owners, occupiers, and investors on transactions and macro trends, before opening, building, and leading a company branch office in Tianjin, one of China’s largest cities, for over a decade. Following this, Michael opened a private consulting and investment firm that invested in quick service restaurants, among other projects.

In addition to this work, Michael has been a long-term AmCham China member and served on the Tianjin Chapter’s Executive Committee for nearly 15 years, including several terms as Chair.
Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on finance and banking from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the US. He is a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese. Michael was born and raised near Kansas City, Missouri.

Jean-Marc joined ExxonMobil in 1993 in Paris. For the first ten years, he held numerous positions in supply chain, sales, and marketing in France and the United States as part of the Synthetics global business unit.

In 2003, Jean-Marc transferred to the Notre Dame de Gravenchon (NDG) manufacturing site in France to lead quality improvements and then the central laboratory for the integrated refinery and chemical NDG site. In 2006, he relocated to Brussels to lead the European Aromatics business.
Jean-Marc relocated to Houston in 2008 and became the planning and financial manager for the Polyolefins business. In 2010, he became the global chemical manager for ExxonMobil’s Business Centers operations. In 2014, he moved to Singapore to lead the sales of the Elastomers business unit globally.
In 2018, Jean-Marc was appointed Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil Saudi Arabia and served as a board member for the four joint ventures with our Saudi partners. He also served as a board member for AmCham Saudi Arabia.

In 2023, Jean-Marc became Chairman of ExxonMobil China, based in Beijing, to oversee our local businesses and lead the interface with external stakeholders in China.

He was appointed a board member of the Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM) in November 2023. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Multinational Companies’ Committee of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF).

Jean-Marc has two sons and a daughter. Since 2017, the family expanded with the birth of three granddaughters. A French citizen, he graduated with a master’s degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Yang Hou is a proven transformational leader with strong technology industry ecosystem development capabilities as well as local insight to enable customers. He is experienced across operations, product optimization and sales leadership with a strong track record in partner and customer engagement. A combination of strategic thinking and execution discipline has helped him deliver outsized growth in his career.

Hou joined Microsoft in March 2021, where he is the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft GCR, responsible for strategic leadership of sales, marketing, services and operations across the three subsidiaries that make up one of Microsoft’s most dynamic and innovative growth regions.

Prior to Microsoft, Hou worked at Qualcomm for more than 8 years both in the US and China. His most recent role was as Senior Vice President of Qualcomm’s semiconductor business in China. During his tenure, the business experienced tremendous growth and more than tripled in revenue. He led a team which collaborated with telecom and mobile internet partners to migrate wireless technologies, deepened partnerships with leading Chinese corporations across industries from mobile to industrial to automotive and drove technology innovation together with a broad array of ecosystem partners in China. Prior to Qualcomm, he spent five years at McKinsey as a leader in their tech practice, based in the US.

Justin Zhao joined Johnson & Johnson in February 2023 as the Vice President of Government Affairs of Johnson & Johnson China, responsible for landing the GA&P strategy in China, leading the company’s policy advocacy and government engagement for shaping the regulatory environment and driving business growth.

Justin brings extensive experience to his current role from his past public and diplomatic services, and over 18 years services at leading U.S. technology companies, including HP and most recently, Microsoft. Justin was Microsoft’s GA lead for China and worked for the company for 12 years, including 6 years at its global headquarters in Redmond. Prior to Microsoft, Justin had served as Government Affairs Director of China HP (2007-2011), Vice President of Swiss Reinsurance Beijing Office (2005-2007), and Policy Director of the United States Information Technology Office (2004-2005).

Justin is also Vice Chair of the Healthcare Equipment Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC).

He received his Master of International Business from the University of Sydney and Bachelor of Economics from the University of International Business and Economics.