Björn Conrad, CEO and co-founder of Sinolytics, has almost two decades of China experience. He is an internationally recognized expert on China’s digital and technological transformation. Before starting Sinolytics, he was the Vice President of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). Sinolytics is a specialized consultancy providing expert analysis and strategic advice on China. The Berlin-based company puts a focus on the opportunities and challenges arising from China’s rapid technological and digital transformation. The Sinolytics team of analysts includes leading experts on China’s technological advances, digital disruption of traditional sectors as well as the Chinese government’s industrial and technology policies. Before starting Sinolytics in 2018, Conrad was Vice President and part of the founding team of the Mercator Institute for China Studies. MERICS is one of the world’s largest think tanks for practical research into contemporary China. It provides analysis and advice to decision-makers as well as information for the media and the general public. In this position, he was appointed to serve in several China expert commissions of the German Federal Government. Prior to his engagement at MERICS, Conrad worked at the World Bank in Washington D.C. as well as the joint program of the World Bank and the United Nations FAO in Rome. During these years, he designed and managed numerous projects in China and its neighboring countries, spending large parts of his professional live in almost all provinces of the People’s Republic. Before joining the World Bank, Conrad co-established and managed the “Rising Powers and Global Governance” focus area of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi). Prior posts include positions at the Boston Consulting Group, the German Foreign Office in Berlin and the UN Secretariat in New York. Conrad received a Master of Arts in Sinology, Political Science, Economics from the University of Trier and Peking University as well as Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School where he studied from 2005-2007 as a Fulbright scholar.