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Fuqua School of Business

Sparking Philanthropy in Others

When it comes to building the Team Fuqua community in China, Chak Man (Joe) Wu MBA ’04 stands out as an ardent advocate, a dedicated volunteer, and a generous donor. Indeed, he was recognized for his commitments to the school and the alumni community with the Alumni Award for Exemplary Service in 2018.

Originally published at Fuqua School of Business

Joe sums up his dedication succinctly: “If the school needs me, I try my best to contribute.”

And contribute he has. From introducing the Team Fuqua culture to prospective students through admissions activities, to lending career advice and industry insights to students and alumni, to organizing opportunities for Fuqua alumni in China to connect, to serving on Fuqua’s East Asia Regional Advisory Board, Joe’s impact as a volunteer has been phenomenal.

Headshot of Chak Man Wu
Chak Man (Joe) Wu MBA '04

“I am amazed by the strong network and bond among our Fuqua alumni,” says Joe. “They exhibit lots of warmth, trust, and kindness toward one another and to the community.”

Joe explains that the values of kindness and teamwork that were ingrained in his Fuqua experience have been an important factor in making business decisions. Joe has had a distinguished career in China’s burgeoning internet industry. After graduating from Fuqua in 2004, he returned to China to join NetDragon, a company focused on China’s online gaming and mobile internet industries. NetDragon spun off 91 Wireless as a subsidiary, and Joe went on to become CEO of the company—one of the largest app stores for Android devices in China. In 2013, 91 Wireless was acquired by Baidu in one of the largest M&A transactions in Chinese internet history. Following the acquisition, Joe founded MFund, an investment fund focused on a broad range of sectors, including e-commerce such as PinDuoDuo, education, health care, artificial intelligence, and social networks. He is also a member of the fourth class of the China Fellowship Program from Aspen Global Leadership Network.

In the same spirit with which he has shared his time and expertise with the Fuqua community, Joe has also shared his financial resources. In 2017, Joe created the Wu Family Scholarship to benefit students from China. And in addition to supporting students generously, Joe had a higher aim in creating the scholarship.

“I created an endowed scholarship hoping that it will spark more people to do so,” explains Joe. “I hope that people with the ability to help others will step forward and give back to their communities so a good and meaningful cycle can flourish. I hope the students who received this scholarship will be able to help those who are in need in the future.”

Because the Wu Family Scholarship is endowed, it will ensure that generations of students from China will contribute to the diversity of experience, talent, and culture that make a Fuqua education so rich. For Joe, that diversity is particularly relevant now.

“I think it is important to acknowledge that in this era, it is of great urgency that we minimize labels of any kind,” he explains. “We must see one another beyond nationalities, colors, and races as one human race. Trade, technology, and climate are shared globally. Therefore, there is no time like the present to unite with mutual understanding and cooperation towards one another. Those are the values that I have learned from Fuqua. I hope these values can be magnified at this turbulent time.”