The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has received a generous commitment from University of Chicago Trustee Wei Cai, AM ’95, MBA ’95, and his wife, Lan Xue, as a part of the university’s recently launched campaign, Chicago Minds. Their gift will endow the faculty directorship at Chicago Booth’s Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets, as well as extend their support of the school’s Annual Fund and its Faculty in Residence Program in Hong Kong.
The new Wei Cai and Lan Xue Faculty Directorship will provide the Clark Center for Global Markets with additional resources to advance its mission of organizing Chicago Booth faculty efforts to influence public policy and the practice of business around the world. The Clark Center is led by faculty directors Eric Budish, Paul G. McDermott Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship and Centel Foundation/Robert P. Reuss Faculty Scholar, and Anil Kashyap, Stevens Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Finance.
“Wei and Lan’s investment will help Chicago Booth further position our thought leaders to make an impact at a truly global scale,” said Madhav Rajan, Steven S. Wymer Dean. “The application of our faculty’s research and insights to business and policy issues has been, and will continue to be, consequential in addressing the world’s greatest challenges.”
To expand the impact of Booth research and catalyze innovation in the field, the Clark Center organizes conferences, hosts expert panels and visiting thought leaders, and offers programs such as the Visiting Fellows, which brings renowned scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to Booth. Former Visiting Fellows have included leaders from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, and scholars from Johns Hopkins, Princeton, MIT, and Stanford.
The Wei Cai and Lan Xue Faculty in Residence Program will continue to bring high-profile Booth faculty members to The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong. This commitment to Booth’s global faculty in Hong Kong was made in 2024 and now will extend through 2032. Faculty in residence have the flexibility to engage with students, alumni, and donors, while also sustaining their research. The program provides a platform to spark dialogue and connection between cultures – bringing ideas from Booth together with a global community, in addition to increasing awareness of the school and its impact in Asia.
“Through this gift, we are pleased to help further Chicago Booth’s mission, including its influence on global markets. In addition, we hope that we can help foster stronger connections among outstanding scholars in the United States and China,” said Cai.
Since its launch, Booth’s Wei Cai and Lan Xue Faculty in Residence Program has succeeded in broadening and strengthening the school’s visibility and impact in Hong Kong and across Asia. The following Booth faculty members have participated in this program to date:
- Amy Ward, Rothman Family Professor of Operations Management and Charles M. Harper Faculty Fellow
- Bernd Wittenbrink, Thomas W. Sidlik Professor of Behavioral Science in the Wallman Society of Fellows
- Haresh Sapra, Charles T. Horngren Professor of Accounting*
- Tengyuan Liang, JP Gan Professor of Econometrics and Statistics, and Applied AI in the Wallman Society of Fellows*
Earlier this year, Cai retired as a partner and global vice chairman of investment banking at Goldman Sachs, where he also served as co-head of China and co-head of China investment banking. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Cai served as vice chairman of Asia investment banking and co-head of China at UBS, and as managing director and head of Asia General Industrials at Morgan Stanley. He was previously a managing director at FountainVest Partners, an Asia-based private equity fund.
Cai joined the University of Chicago’s Board of Trustees in 2026 and serves on the Campaign Cabinet. In addition, he serves on the Council on Chicago Booth and on the school’s Global Leaders Group. He is also a member of the Harris School of Public Policy Advisory Council, and has been supporting key initiatives at Booth and Harris for many years.
Xue is a founding partner of Trivest Advisors, one of the leading Asia-based alternative capital management companies. Before Trivest, she was managing director and head of China equity research at Citigroup. Xue is a trustee of Brandeis University.
In reflecting on the impact of this new commitment, the inaugural Wei Cai and Lan Xue Faculty Directors Budish and Kashyap said, “Wei and Lan’s generous support will further the Clark Center’s mission to study global markets and to advance ideas that influence the policies and institutions shaping the global economy.”
*Chicago Booth’s Faculty in Residence Program in Hong Kong was initially funded for the 2023-24 academic year by Raymond Hung, MBA ’73, and Betsy Chen, MBA ’09 (AXP-8).