Savio Savio Kwan MSc09(1976)

Alumnus and current Governing Body member, Savio Kwan MSc09(1976) is thrilled to serve as Campaign Chairman for the School’s £200m Campaign. Savio is passionate about “Walking the Journey with our Alumni and Friends” and is supporting our digital transformation to make the research, learning, and connections happen to make that possible. He shares our commitment to achieving our ambitious vision for the future of London Business School. We will benefit from his expertise and insights in his position as Chair.

Savio has been a dedicated and generous supporter of the School for decades, starting with annual fund gifts contributing to the MSc 09 class scholarship. In the School’s first Campaign, he generously endowed the Charles Handy Chair in Organizational Behaviour which Professor Herminia Ibarra holds currently. Savio and his wife Rita also established and endowed the SARI Scholars program for exceptional MBA students. Professionally, Savio is best known for his time as president and COO of the online marketplace Alibaba, from 2001 to 2003. He later took on the chief people officer role in 2004 and has been a non-executive director of the listed B2B business since December 2008 until its privatisation in 2012.

In 2005, Savio co-founded A&K Consulting as CEO and founding partner, advising entrepreneurs about start-up businesses in China. Savio joined British American Tobacco in January 2014 as an independent non-executive director.

Savio has more than 30 years of global management experience, including 17 years at the medical systems division of General Electric, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, operations, business development and establishing joint venture companies in Asia. He was managing director of China operations at BTR plc for four years, a UK-based Fortune 500 company.

Savio has served as a board member of the Asia Pacific Advisory Board of York International Corporation, a global air conditioning system provider. He is a visiting professor at Henley Business School and lectures on Chinese business strategy and leadership. He received the London Business School Alumni Achievement Award in 2011.

Videos with Savio Kwan