The Asian Maverick

Life and leadership lessons from an Asian perspective, based on the career of a man who has risen to the top of the Western corporate ladder and left it all behind to start something new Chris Lee had a cushy role. For a decade, he led the Asia-Pacific division of Medtronic, a multibillion dollar business and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of medical devices, and consistently produced excellent business outcomes. Then, at fifty-six, he threw all of that away to start VentureBlick, an international fundraising platform matching healthcare startups and medical investors. Why did Lee do that? Lee takes us through his journey as one of the youngest Asian leaders in an MNC (youngest director in Merck at age twenty-seven, youngest country manager at thirty, first Asia-Pacific leader reporting to Bayer HQ at thirty-nine), how he brought Asian leadership sensibilities into multiple global companies, and reveals why he believes it’s important for corporate leaders to adopt an Asian lens and think like a maverick.

Chris Lee is an entrepreneur, investor, startup advisor, and senior executive in the healthcare industry with extensive international experience. He is one of the few Asians to rise to the global executive committee level in two Fortune 500 healthcare companies, with a strong track record in business growth, M&A, new market expansion, and innovation incubation.