Since moving “for love” to the US aged 17 with $20 in his pocket, Donald Tang has been a dish washer, an investment banker and a media mogul, with his rags-to-riches tale winning him fame in his native China.
But his latest role as executive chair of Shein, the fast fashion group that was valued at more than $60bn in a recent funding round, has propelled him on to the global stage as he helps lead its rapid expansion overseas and prepares it for a blockbuster London listing.
With the company’s co-founder Sky Xu shying away from the limelight — Shein employees joke that they would not recognise him if they were in the same lift — Tang is “the face and the most visible leader of the company”, according to one person who works with him.