Team size: Six

In an increasingly complex global environment, how are you helping your organisation navigate risk while still supporting growth?

Against a backdrop of tightening cross-border regulation, geopolitical complexity and heightened scrutiny in healthcare and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), my role is to embed proactive, business-aligned compliance that protects reputation while enabling sustainable global expansion. As the overseas flagship of Beijing Tong Ren Tang, we operate across multiple jurisdictions with strict pharmaceutical, import/export, advertising, anti-bribery and data protection rules. I lead the team to build a unified risk management framework covering regulatory compliance, brand protection, internal controls and third-party due diligence, with clear workflows for daily monitoring and early intervention.

We translate high-level rules into operational guardrails: pre-launch compliance reviews for new markets, tailored anti-corruption and anti-bribery training for directors and frontline teams, and structured protocols for handling actual or potential violations. Rather than acting as a constraint, compliance becomes a competitive advantage by strengthening governance, reassuring regulators and partners, and preserving trust in our 350-year-old brand. This balanced approach allows us to expand our global footprint, promote TCM internationally and pursue Belt and Road-related opportunities while maintaining zero tolerance for compliance breaches. We turn risk management into a driver of responsible, long-term growth.

How has the role of General Counsel evolved in recent years, and where do you see GCs creating the most value today?

The General Counsel has evolved from a legal technician to a strategic business partner and governance leader. Modern GCs no longer only resolve disputes or review contracts; they shape commercial strategy, manage regulatory uncertainty, build ethical culture and protect enterprise value. Today’s most impactful GCs combine legal mastery with commercial awareness, cross-functional leadership and board-level communication.

The greatest value lies in three areas: strategic risk calibration, which involves balancing speed to market with sustainable compliance, especially in highly regulated sectors such as healthcare and TCM; cultural and governance leadership, embedding integrity into daily operations to strengthen trust with customers, regulators and investors; and board enablement, providing clear, concise and forward-looking legal and compliance insights to support high-quality decision-making.

At Tong Ren Tang, this evolution aligns with our heritage of integrity and quality. We help the business grow without cutting corners, turning legal and compliance capabilities into a core pillar of our global leadership ambition in TCM.

How has AI changed the legal function recently (including in the past year), and how are you approaching it within your team?

AI has accelerated efficiency, consistency and predictive risk management in legal and compliance. Over the past year, we have adopted practical AI tools to streamline contract review, regulatory updates, policy monitoring and transaction screening — reducing manual effort while improving accuracy. AI helps us quickly flag high-risk clauses, monitor cross-jurisdictional rule changes and maintain consistency across our multilingual, multi-market operations.

Our approach is pragmatic and controlled: we use AI to enhance, not replace, human judgement. We focus on scalable, low risk use cases that deliver immediate productivity gains without compromising confidentiality or regulatory rigour. The team combines AI-driven insights with deep industry and jurisdictional expertise to deliver robust, defensible outcomes. This hybrid model enables us to handle higher workloads while maintaining the quality and trust central to Tong Ren Tang’s brand.

What regulatory or risk trends are having the greatest impact on your role at present?

Three interconnected trends dominate our work: increased cross-border regulatory enforcement in anti-bribery, data privacy and pharmaceutical compliance, raising the cost of non-compliance; heightened transparency and ESG expectations requiring stronger documentation, traceability and ethical supply chain oversight, which is critical for a heritage brand in healthcare; and rapid digitalisation and market expansion creating new risks in digital marketing, cross-border e-commerce and third-party partnerships.

These trends reinforce that compliance is no longer a back-office function but a frontline enabler of reputation and growth. We respond by strengthening our integrated legal compliance risk framework, enhancing training and monitoring, and embedding compliance into end-to-end business processes. This allows us to navigate uncertainty, protect our legacy and support our mission to bring trusted TCM to the world responsibly.