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Fran Lu

The senior executive of China’s leading hotpot brand Haidilao, Yang Lijuan, has been hailed as “China’s most capable waitress” thanks to her legendary waitress-turned-CEO story.
Yang, 47, started her career as an ordinary waitress at Haidilao, which used to be a small hotpot restaurant in southwestern China’s Sichuan province.
In 2022 she became the restaurant chain’s CEO after its founder Zhang Yong stepped down. Now, Yang is the CEO of Haidilao’s overseas unit, Super Hi.

Yang was born in Sichuan in 1978 and dropped out of secondary school as a teenager.
In 1995, she joined Haidilao, which was established in one of the hotpot’s hometowns, Sichuan, in 1994, as a waitress.
During her first year with Haidilao, Yang’s family’s creditors came to her home demanding they pay a debt they owed. Zhang generously offered to pay 800 yuan (US$115), which was twice the city’s average monthly salary back then.
Yang reportedly decided to stay with Haidilao for life.

Her skyrocketing career mirrored Haidilao’s rapid expansion across China.
At the age of 19, Yang became a shop manager. At 21, she was appointed to lead Haidilao’s expansion to Xian, the brand’s first home outside Sichuan.
She reportedly led the Xian branch staff to confront more than 60 armed troublemakers one night in 1999.
In 2012, when Yang was in charge of all Haidilao shops’ operations, the brand opened its first overseas branch in Singapore.

She became the company’s chief operations officer in 2018 and rose to CEO in 2022 when Zhang stepped down.
She led a project to shut down 300 poorly performing branches and reportedly turned the brand’s losses into gains, helping it achieve a net profit of 4.495 billion yuan (US$650 million) in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 174.6 per cent.
In 2024, Yang stepped down as Haidilao’s CEO and became the CEO of Super Hi, which manages the brand’s overseas market.
Yang remained firm on the strategy of prioritising profitable overseas branches, increasing customer flow in the third quarter of last year to 8.1 million, a 9.5 per cent year-on-year increase.

Yang was listed in the top 50 Hurun richest self-made women in the world in 2021, and ranked 7th in the Hurun China’s richest professional managers list the same year.
Recently, Zhang Yong announced his return to Haidilao’s CEO position and appointed four new executive directors, all women who started as ordinary workers in the company.
They are seen as Yang’s successors.
Yang’s story has inspired many people online.
“A hero is a hero, regardless of their background,” one commented.
“Yang deserves her achievement, being a noble character who knows to repay her boss’s kindness and remains loyal to her company,” said another.


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China ‘most capable waitress’ begins career at top hotpot chain, becomes overseas unit CEO

Yang Lijuan, dubbed China’s “most capable waitress,” began her career at Haidilao, a small hotpot restaurant 30 years ago; she is now the CEO of its overseas unit, Super Hi. Photo: SCMP composite/SCMP_Wu Hao/Sohu

One of Haidilao’s branches outside China. Yang Lijuan is the CEO of the company’s overseas unit, Super Hi. Photo: QQ.com

Another overseas outlet, above. Yang began her career as a waitress at Haidilao 30 years ago. Photo: QQ.com

Customers and staff pictured at one of the chain’s restaurants in China. Photo: EPA-EFE

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‘Loyal’ lowly restaurant worker makes meteoric rise to top of corporate career ladder; leads projects to boost company profits, takes chain global


‘Loyal’ lowly restaurant worker makes meteoric rise to top of corporate career ladder; leads projects to boost company profits, takes chain global.


Haidilao

China ‘most capable waitress’ begins career at top hotpot chain, becomes overseas unit CEO

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Loyal’ lowly restaurant worker makes meteoric rise to top of corporate career ladder; leads projects to boost company profits, takes chain global

‘Loyal’ lowly restaurant worker makes meteoric rise to top of corporate career ladder; leads projects to boost company profits, takes chain global