Dean Diabate is a Business Development Advisor at Alibaba Group. Diabate’s 10 years living and working in China has given him first-hand insights in experiencing and understanding the societal and economical changes that led China to where it is today. He started my China experience in Shanghai as a Sales Intern in the financial services sector in 2008 before opening China’s first Scandinavian-dedicated private bank, which was then sold in early 2010. Looking for a change as well as deepen his understanding of China’s booming digital economy, Diabate joined a boutique digital content studio as Business Development Manager. A year later, he started DHD Agency with the mission to transform the way businesses market themselves and address critical challenges around customer acquisition, targeting and retention by using traditional tools and innovative technologies such as AR and VR. He now work for Alibaba Group (TMall Global) after spending 15 months in the Alibaba Global Leadership Academy (AGLA). In AGLA, Diabate did immersive work at Rural Taobao, AliExpress and TMall Global and attended in-depth learning modules on Chinese culture, cloud computing, logistics, online payments, marketplaces, local services and entertainment businesses.

Favorite Quote: “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs