Diane Long was appointed the Executive Director for the California-China Office of Trade and Investment on October 17, 2013. The California-China Office of Trade and Investment, a private-public partnership under California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, provides Californian companies increased access to Chinese business contacts, provides Chinese investors with access to California projects that will benefit from increased investment, and facilitates new investment and trade growth between California and China. Ms. Long will be responsible for expanding California brands and businesses into China and facilitating Chinese investment into California.
Diane’s unique skills and over 28 plus years of on-the-ground China experience enable her to assist first-to-market as well as established firms that want to focus on execution strategies. She has worked with a variety of consumer products from fashion, wine and cosmetics to education and non-profit services. Since 2009, Diane Long had been Managing Director for Xanadu Enterprise Shanghai Ltd., a bilingual, bicultural China strategic market entry firm providing a range of consulting and business support services to support companies in various stages of entering and operating in the China market. Xanadu Enterprise recently led the organization of the first annual “California Week Shanghai 2013” a platform to showcase the very best of California products in the China market.
Diane joined Xanadu from UBS International, a China based management consultancy working with manufacturing firms to optimize their operations in China. Before UBS, she led adidas’ post-acquisition of Reebok’s global apparel operations, as well as served as the company’s China country manager. Prior to adidas, she spent 10 years with Liz Claiborne as vice president and general manager of China operations. In the 1990s she established the China office for Pacific Rim Resources, a boutique market entry consulting firm from San Francisco, assisting Fortune 1000 companies entering the China market.
Diane has been a leader in the non-profit arena, having co-founded and led several social and business organizations. She recently was elected president of the Stanford Club of Shanghai. She currently is lead director for a medical services philanthropy that funds medical support services for economically disadvantaged children and adults suffering from heart disease, leprosy, and cancer. She is a founder and board director of Active Kidz Shanghai. She also was a past chairman and governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Diane is a graduate of Stanford University and is married with 3 sons.