Zhang Lei

Zhang Lei studied at Renmin University in Beijing before earning an MBA from Yale School of Management in 2002. He worked briefly at the Yale Investments Office under David Swensen before founding Hillhouse Capital in 2005 with $20 million in seed capital from the Yale endowment. What became one of Asia's most significant investment firms, Hillhouse grew to manage over $100 billion in assets across public equities, private equity, and venture capital. Zhang's approach combines the long-term focus of Buffett with deep sector expertise in technology, healthcare, and consumer. His early investments in Tencent, JD.com, Meituan, and Baidu helped define the Chinese internet landscape. Zhang also led major private equity investments in Hillhouse-backed companies through their PE fund. He is known for his "do right, do long" investment philosophy, emphasizing sustainable business models over short-term financial engineering.