Wei Christianson

Wei Christianson at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China 2012

Wei Christianson (born August 21, 1956) is the CEO and managing director of Morgan Stanley in Asia.

Education

Christianson applied to liberal arts colleges in the United States, and was accepted in 1983 to Amherst College as a transfer student and its first student from mainland China following China's opening to the Western world in early 1980s.^[1] She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in political science in 1985.

She immediately continued on to Columbia Law School, where she graduated with honors in international law in 1989.^[2]

Career

Following Columbia Law School, Christianson worked as an attorney in the New York offices of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

After Christianson moved to Hong Kong, she attained a position as Associate Director in the Corporate Finance Department at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) drafting the regulatory structure that would enable the first batch of People's Republic of China companies to be listed outside China — a unique job that helped pave the way for her investment banking career.^[3]

Christianson joined Morgan Stanley, where she was an executive director, Beijing chief representative, and a senior team member of Morgan Stanley's Resources, Power and Transportation Group. Christianson later joined Citigroup as a managing director and chairman of China, Citigroup Global Markets (Asia) Ltd., where she was responsible for the securities and investment banking businesses in China. Christianson held a similar position with Credit Suisse First Boston, as a managing director, chairman and country manager.^[4]

As a banker, Christianson has masterminded major initial public offerings including Sinopec, China Life, and SMIC, and oversaw the $4.2 billion acquisition of Gas Khazakstan by CNPC, which was the largest cross-border M&A deal ever undertaken in China at that time.^[5]

Awards

Christianson was listed in the Fortune magazine “International Power 50” in 2008 to 2011 as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. Fortune Magazine ranked Wei within the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Asia-Pacific in 2014.^[6]

Christianson is one of the Wall Street Journal 50 Women to Watch of 2006, 2007 and 2008. She is one of the Top 25 Nonbank Women in Finance, 2007 and 2008, rated by American Banker and U.S. Banker. She was on the Financial Times Power Women to Watch list in 2010 and 2011.

Christianson received several awards recognizing her achievements as a Chinese native. She received the Pinnacle Award as one of the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business 2009 by Asian American Business Development Center. She also received the Legacy Award in 2008 by Museum of Chinese in America, and the China Women’s Achievement Award in 2008 by Women’s Federation of P.R. China and Sun Media Group.^[2]

Christianson was awarded the Medal for Excellence by Columbia University School of Law Association. Christianson was also elected to the prestigious board of The Estée Lauder Companies in 2011, on which she currently serves.^[7]

Personal

Christianson is married to Jon Christianson, a partner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, and is the mother of three boys, Erik, Neil and Nicholas.^[2] She currently lives with her family in Beijing^[4] and co-owns with her husband a 8,500-square-foot (790 m²) home in Idaho's Sawtooth Valley, just north of the Sawtooth Valley Ranger Station near Fisher Creek on Highway 75.^[8]

References