King & Wood Mallesons has elected a new chairman for its China business, succeeding founder and global chairman Wang Junfeng.
Zhang Yi who joined the firm in 1996 and was a member of the second, third, fourth, and fifth King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) China management committees. Zhang is in his early 40's and relatively young to become a senior leader at a Red Circle firm in China.
Zhang joined King & Wood Mallesons in 1996 and is a partner of King & Wood Mallesons (China). Prior to joining the firm, he worked as an in-house counsel for the China National Medicines & Health Products Import & Export Corporation.
Outbound Investments
Zhang specializes in private equity fund formation and investments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and domestic and offshore IPOs, as well as outbound investments by Chinese companies.
He has handled a number of key initial public offerings (IPO's) and milestone transactions and serves as a legal counsel for a number of large insurance companies and has participated in acquisitions of Chinese insurance companies by foreign investors and investment of insurance funds.
Revitalize Management Structure
KWM said that choosing younger outstanding partners for leadership positions is part of a conscious effort to rejuvenate the management ranks of the firm. KWM China said that in February, it has promoted or laterally hired 30 new partners, bringing the firm’s global partner count to 520.
Since 2015, Zhang has co-led the Hong Kong partnership with Hayden Flinn. He transitions to leading the China partnership with managing partner Wang Lin after his election at the recent KWM China Partners Conference in Beijing.
Wang Junfeng will continue his global chairmanship and become honorary chairman of KWM China.
