As senior executive vice-president at China-based internet portal Tencent, David Wallerstein said he aspired to “create China’s leading internet company”. Outlining his method, he said: “We seek to identify the best technologies, applications, content, ideas and practices from around the world – in addition to China – to ensure we never fail to exceed user expectations.”
Wallerstein moved to China and joined Tencent in 2001 after working in business development at the media company’s largest shareholder, Naspers’ corporate venturing unit Myriad International Holdings (MIH). He oversees Tencent’s international business initiatives through identifying co-operation with multinational partners and he is responsible for Tencent’s operations outside mainland China and its $1.5bn corporate venturing fund.
Before his time at MIH, Wallerstein was a management consultant in China’s telecommunications and IT industries. He gained his master’s degree from University of California, Berkeley, and has bachelor’s degree from Washington. The current portfolio has seven companies.