Virginia Tan is the co-founder and managing director of Lean In China. In May 2013 she co-founded Lean In Beijing, a women's platform which supports the goals and aspirations of women in China through incubating and building active communities for women to thrive across China, inspired by the book 'Lean In' by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. She also launched and manages Lean In College, an intercollegiate platform in China as well as a mentorship program for college women and young professionals. Lean In China communities are now present in more than 15 cities and 40 universities across China. Tan has spoken at UNICEF, Baidu, General Electric, Bloomberg, the British Council, the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, Singapore Management University and the World Academy for the Future of Women, and was filmed by BBC, Vice and CCTV in 2015. She is also a Global Shaper selected by the World Economic Forum.
Tan's background is in law and finance, where she was an experienced finance lawyer for more than 8 years specializing on strategic investment in the energy, resources and infrastructure sectors in emerging and frontier markets. She has worked in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America representing governments, large corporates and financial institutions for two magic circle firms. Tan has an LLB from Kings College, University of London and spent 10 years in London, Africa and the Middle East before relocating to China in 2013. She is deeply passionate about using capital and expertise from the private sector as a tool for facilitating sustainable development in developing countries. She has extensive experience advising pro bono NGOs and charities on social financing and commercial issues, accompanied by field experience in developing countries.