David SHI

Chairman and CEO

Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd.

GK01, Class of 2016

David Shi, an alumnus of the Guanghua-Kellogg Executive MBA program, is the Chairman and CEO of Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd., while also shouldering some social business such as Deputy Secretary General of the National Union for big data industry, and others. David has presided over more than 30 national key research projects and published many books jointly with well-known experts in the health care and big data industry.

David Shi has been working in the field of medical big data and artificial intelligence for more than 20 years, leading his company to expand globally. In the future, his goal is to apply Chinese technology abroad, become a leader in the field of medical big data and artificial intelligence, and help solve global medical problems. David describes this vision and ambition as the “Difficult but Right" thing to do, as well as the social responsibility of being an entrepreneur.

Advancing the Frontier

David Shi has worked at a world leading technology company, accumulating rich experience in the field of big data. He has led teams to complete major designs, earning an outstanding contribution award for his efforts. After returning to China, his first task was to lead the development and construction of a national key e-government project, the National Population Macro Management and Decision Information System (PADIS), which was successfully released at the United Nations Conference on Population and Development. This was the first time that China promoted its domestically-developed software system to the world at the United Nations General Assembly. The successful launch has attracted domestic and worldwide attention, and the software has also been used in India and Brazil.

David Shi presented at the United Nations Conference on Population and Development

From leading a Fortune 500 company to becoming a China's leading integrated IT service provider, David has achieved what many would consider career-crowning achievements. However, in David's mind, success in life lies in the courage to not just reach the peak but to continue forwards. As a result, he chose to continue to move forward and start his own business in the field of medical big data and artificial intelligence. A key driver is that when he was working on the development of a population data platform and decision-making system, David felt that China's aging population and the changing disease spectrum will result in a surge in the need for treatment. He felt a responsibility to apply his skills in data governance and artificial intelligence in the medical field to improve the efficiency of medical treatment, reduce overall medical costs, and contribute to China and society.

Pursuing Further Education to Spur Innovation

In 2016, David founded Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd. to lead the digitalization and intelligence of China's medical and health industry. Centering on the four core areas of medical big data, intelligent imaging, precision medicine, and digital services, the company provides solutions for the government, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, and insurance. Under David's leadership, the business of Digital Health China has experienced rapid growth. The company has obtained a strategic investment of nearly 3 billion RMB from well-known investment institutions such as Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Philips, Guoxin, SK China, etc. The company is currently valued at almost 10 billion RMB. Digital Health China has also achieved recognition, winning accolades such as the “Medical Big Data Unicorn Enterprise and the Medical Artificial Intelligence Leading Enterprise” by the Internet Weekly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the "Future Healthcare VB 100: Top 10 Digital Health Companies", "Artificial Intelligence TOP 100”, cementing its place as a leading unicorn in the industry.

David Shi attended a national project meeting led by Shuyang Zhang, the president of Peking Union Medical College Hospital

In order to stay ahead in the professional field, David has relied on continuously learning: "In today's society, the cycle of technological change is shorter, the world has entered a VUCA era, lifelong learning allows us to keep pace with the times and preserve cognitive development." Because of his lifelong learning philosophy, David was able to build Digital China Health into a Chinese medical big data unicorn and a leading Chinese medical AI enterprise in 2021 within just five years of stepping into the medical field. 

Lifelong learning enables individuals to adapt to the rapidly changing society, emphasizing actively pursuing improvement throughout life. After exploring and trying many different learning paths, David chose to join the Guanghua -Kellogg EMBA Program to continue on his lifelong learning journey. He believes that Guanghua and Kellogg, two world-class business schools, can bring him multifaceted view and resources.  Integrated classroom learning is more conducive to the exchange of ideas, which helps him quickly adapt to the rapidly changing business environment and make continuous breakthroughs and innovations in technology. David believes that while non-lifelong learners can achieve excellent results, they will remain someone who follows the crowd. Only by adopting lifelong learning, can break their shackles and reach their potential.

Expanding Domestically and Aiming Overseas

While leading Digital Health China, it is also a long-term goal for the company to go international. Internationalization is one of the major trends in the future development of Chinese enterprises. Going global not only needs to enhance product competitiveness but also requires the company to strengthen its brand image and cement its reputation of adhering to social contracts as part of its global strategy. David's experience at the Guanghua-Kellogg EMBA Program has provided him with the knowledge and inspiration for going global.

The program’s robust business theory and knowledge have helped David to better guide the company’s operations and improve his management ability. The market insights gained at the program and the ability to predict trends also enhance his strategic decision-making abilities, while helping him avoid pursuing short-term interests or simply imitating the actions of other companies, helping his company to strengthen its performance internally. Also, Guanghua and Kellogg, as partners in the world's leading EMBA network, have provided multiple perspectives and rich resources for David to expand his global vision and understand the international landscape.

David Shi was with his Guanghua-Kellogg EMBA classmates

At the Guanghua-Kellogg EMBA program, David connected and studied alongside executives from different fields around the world, acquiring insights into management theory and practice. He hopes to establish Digital Health China as a leading company domestically as well as internationally, as he sees that big data and artificial intelligence will improve the effectiveness of Chinese medical research and clinical diagnosis and treatment, as well as increase the amount of technological innovation and the quality of exports to the world. With this, we look forward to seeing Digital Health China becoming a global leader in medical big data and artificial intelligence, after which they will help bring solutions to problems all over the world.

David Shi was on Kellogg’s campus

What’s past is prologue. Through lifelong learning, David Shi has consistently sought to advance. He always insisted on doing what’s “difficult but right”. Starting a business is fraught with difficulties, but David doesn’t just aim to reach the bleeding edge of technology, but also to create value for society and the public. Lifelong learning is difficult, but only by adhering to lifelong learning can we achieve the vision of combining international advanced medical big data and artificial intelligence to meet China's medical service needs and elevate China's medical and informatization capabilities to lead internationally. The Guanghua-Kellogg EMBA program is looking forward to working with more persevering and persistent executives with the ideals to do what’s "difficult but right " and jointly build a better future for the community with a shared future for mankind.

About the Guanghua-Kellogg EMBA Program

The Guanghua-Kellogg Executive MBA program is a global partnership between Peking University's Guanghua School of Management and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. With 12 week-long modules spreading across a period of 22 months, the program empowers business leaders to inspire growth in themselves and their organizations while building an international network capable of driving future collaborations.

Admissions for the GK Class of 2024 starting in September 2022 are open. To learn more about the program, we invite you to book a 1-on-1 chat with our admissions team.