As the Vice President and General Manager of North America, Dr. Zhihang Chi manages all aspects of Air China’s business in North America from its headquarters in Los Angeles.
Dr. Chi’s experience, training and educational background have prepared him well for the challenges of his position as the head of Air China in North America. He worked in a number of increasingly responsible positions for Northwest Airlines from 1994 to 2003.He joined Air China in 2004 and has led the company’s unprecedented growth and significant investments in and contribution to the California economy. Before he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager for North America in April 2008, Dr. Chi was General Manager, Western USA for two years until November 2006. Prior to this, he was responsible for Air China’s Los Angeles office.
Dr. Chi’s unrelenting advocacy for visa liberalization for Chinese visitors has made him a familiar figure to senior members of the U.S. Congress, State Department and the U.S. Homeland Security with whom he has personally met. Fluent in English and Chinese, Dr. Chi’s background makes him uniquely qualified to speak on China and U.S.-China relations.
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Dr. Chi was born in China. He earned his doctorate and master’s degrees from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received his bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Peking University in Beijing.
