Tianyi Joe Zhu （朱天怡）
Tianyi “Joe” Zhu is an international entrepreneur and angel investor, recognized in 2017 by the Asian-American Business Development Corporation as one of the “Top 50 Outstanding Asian-Americans in Business”, and was also recognized as a Business Leader of Color by Chicago United in 2019. Starting his entrepreneurial pursuits in college, he has had multiple exits with his personal ventures as well as his angel investments in both China and the US.
He is currently a Partner in Nanjing Wande Group, and the Managing Partner of Playground Capital, its North American subsidiary. Wande is China’s largest parks and playgrounds manufacturer with distribution to over 80 countries and equipment in over 300,000 playgrounds across China. Joe oversees the international operations, reviews and manages profit and loss, and budgets for its portfolio companies, and is responsible for the evaluation of companies considered for investment, acquisition, or joint venture partnership.
Leveraging his Chinese American background, global network, and cross-cultural expertise, he was able to orchestrate a partnership between two multibillion-dollar industry giants, the largest playground manufacturer in China, Nanjing Wande Group, with the largest in North America. Regardless of cultural differences, he looks for synergies of purpose in every deal. My personal motto is, “a successful business is not about good transactions, but about fostering great relationships.”
In Chicago, he co-founded SmartHealth Activator, which supported Rosalind Franklin University’s plan to build a $50 million, 100,000 square-foot Biotech Innovation Park. Lake County Partners estimates the first phase of the project will create 498 jobs and have an annual economic impact of $117 million. He is also a co-founder of two investment groups – Red Frey Ventures and West Suburban Angels.
In China, Joe is the Chairman of the Zhu Holdings Group, involved in the license for the famous Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas which opened a 250,000 square-foot healthcare clinic in Nanjing and a 2,500-acre wellness resort in Beijing. The business group leverages its many relationships with public and private corporations in China to support its portfolio companies.
He was recently recognized by the NAAPPPA (National Association of Asian Pacific’s in Politics and Public Affairs) for the 2020 List of the Top 40 Asian Pacific Americans Under 40 in Politics & Public Affairs. He serves as the National Co-Chair of Leaders Forum, a bi-partisan Asian American network of business executives and influential thought leaders launched in the White House in 2014. Is an Ambassador for the National Asian American Chamber of Commerce (National ACE). And he is also one of fifteen business leaders selected from across the United States to serve on the Millennial Debt Commission in DC. In Chicago, he also serves on the board of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association, recently granted $3 million dollars by the State of Illinois to build the first of its kind, Pan-Asian Center.
Joe in his personal life, is also a professional boxer, who competed in the 2008 Chinese Olympic Trials, and was a former World Amateur Thai Boxing Champion. He is a fighter both in and outside the ring, using his grit, resourcefulness, and adaptability to chase the “American Dream”.