Irene Hong

Irene is many things: long-time China expat, founding partner of an investment bank, single mother, daughter, triathlete, fighter. Originally hailing from the U.S., Irene first came to Beijing as a mechanical engineer, and over the course of two decades found herself leading one of China's leading healthcare banking industry groups.

How did Irene come to China? How did she make the transition from being an engineer into banking? How did she manage difficult choices during challenging personal times and male-dominated industries? How does she balance being a single mom to two kids and a big job? Come hear her China story!

Bio:

Irene Hong, Founding Partner – CEC Capital Group

Irene is a founding partner for CEC Capital Group, and leads the healthcare industry group. Under her guidance, CEC Capital has emerged as a leader in the healthcare banking sector with the largest specialized team covering pharma/biotech, medtech, services, and digital healthcare. Notable clients include Arrail Dental, Berry Genomics, China Medical Diagnostics Corporation, Righton Bio, Sino-Kor Hospital, and Reach Surgical. CEC Capital also has a strong cross-border practice, having worked in the past with several multinational companies including Zimmer, Charles River, and Teva.

Prior to joining CEC Capital, Irene was a Manager for Accenture in San Francisco. Before her MBA, she worked as an engineer for Merck and worked on several plant start-ups, including a technology transfer project in China for a recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine, and for Merck's launch of Crixivan, a protease inhibitor for HIV. Irene both her MBA and BS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley.