Angela Dong, Chairman and CEO of Nike Greater China, has decided on her next stop. "Daily Economic News" reporters learned from the industry that she will officially join Sequoia China as an investment partner on April 1.
Public information shows that Dong Wei joined Nike China in 2005. In 2015, he was promoted to Nike’s global vice president and general manager of Greater China. In October 2024, he was promoted to chairman and CEO of Greater China. On March 31, 2026, she officially resigned and officially announced that she would join Sequoia China and become a consumer investor.
Dong Wei has worked at Nike for more than 20 years
Since its establishment, Sequoia China has identified consumption as one of the three major areas. Its layout covers IP trends, tourism, sports, etc., and it has accurately invested in a number of well-known consumer companies such as Bubble Mart, Mingming Busy, Beitani, Kayou, Gu Ming, etc., and many of them are the earliest investors.
Prior to this, Zhang Yu, the former editor-in-chief of the Chinese version of "VOGUE Clothing and Beauty", also officially announced that he had become an investment partner of Sequoia China. Under her participation and leadership, Sequoia China has successively invested in or acquired many European, American and Korean designer brands such as Ami, WE11DONE, DESTRE, and Holzweiler.
From the head of Nike China to an investor in Sequoia China
In the large consumer field, Dong Wei has more than 20 years of executive experience, and his career spans multiple global consumer goods giants.
Public information shows that Dong Wei joined Nike China in 2005 as financial director; in September 2011, he served as vice president and chief financial officer of Nike Greater China; in April 2015, he continued to be promoted to Nike global vice president and general manager of Greater China, with overall responsibility for Nike in the Chinese market Its business strategy and operations have played a key role in promoting the continued growth of Nike's business in Greater China; in October 2024, Nike appointed Dong Wei as chairman and CEO of Greater China and global CEO of the ACG brand. This is also the first Chinese executive to take charge of Nike's global sub-brand.
Industry insiders commented that during his 21 years at Nike, Dong Wei witnessed and led the rise and transformation of this international sports brand in the Chinese market, built a world-class local team and innovation ecosystem, and promoted Nike's layout in digital transformation, local innovation and sustainable development, making Nike Greater China an important fulcrum of the group's global strategy.
Dong Wei's work picture
In addition, Dong Wei has also served as an independent director of the Estee Lauder Group since 2021, demonstrating her influence in the global consumer goods industry. These gave her the confidence to turn into a consumer investor.
The "Daily Economic News" reporter noticed that Dong Wei's title when he joined Sequoia China was "investment partner." In the investment circle, investment partner (Venture Partner) is a relatively special role.
A leading VC person told reporters that most senior people with industrial or industry backgrounds who transform into investors will start from the role of investment partners. This identity usually has many years of experience in industry or industry, and often enters the investment field due to career transformation needs. Relying on their in-depth understanding of the industry, they can judge high-quality projects more accurately than ordinary investors. At the same time, they can rely on their accumulated resources and relationship network to provide empowering support for invested projects and enterprises in related industries. This is also its core value. "It is a choice for many entrepreneurs after their business reaches a certain stage."
This model is not uncommon in the international investment community. Compared with general partners, the relationship between investment partners and fund companies will be looser. But it combines industrial experience with capital strength to provide more targeted strategic guidance and resource support for invested companies.
Sequoia China has previously introduced a number of investment partners, forming a matrix of industry experts covering consumption, technology, carbon neutrality and other fields. For example, at the beginning of 2021, Zhang Yu, the former editor-in-chief of VOGUE China, known as the "Devil of Fashion", announced that he would join Sequoia China as an investment partner, focusing on the fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment consumer sectors, and supporting the new generation of Chinese creativity and international brands seeking development in China. After joining Sequoia, Zhang Yu gave full play to his resources and influence in the fashion industry. Sequoia China invested in or acquired a number of European, American and Korean designer brands, including French brands AMI and DESTREE, Korean fashion brand WE11DONE, Norwegian brand Holzweiler, etc., and continued to expand its consumer fashion investment territory.
Is the consumption track okay again?
Since the beginning of this year, the recovery of investment in the consumer sector has become the focus of heated discussions in the industry. Many consumer investors previously stated in interviews with reporters from the "Daily Economic News" that the investment performance-price ratio of high-quality projects has significantly improved, and the industry's recovery trend is clear. There are multiple dimensional factors behind this.
On the one hand, policies are blowing warmly. On March 6, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, released a major signal at the economic press conference of the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress – a more precise and inclusive set of listing standards will be added to the Growth Enterprise Market to actively support new consumption, modern service industries and other high-quality innovative entrepreneurial companies to list on the Growth Enterprise Market.
Photos of Dong Wei in Nike store
As soon as the news came out, the entire primary market was instantly ignited, especially consumer investors. Some interviewed institutions said that this policy signal has given a boost to the consumption track. It will not only broaden the exit channels for high-quality consumer companies, but also guide more capital to return to the consumption field and help the healthy development of the industry.
Judging from the data, the amount of consumer investment has also continued to increase this year. According to the statistics of Jiachuan Investment, reporters from "Daily Economic News" found that in January and February this year, the scale of investment in the consumer track reached 2.552 billion yuan and 7.063 billion yuan respectively, a year-on-year increase of 116.64% and 209.51% respectively. February also surged 176.76% compared to January, reflecting that the primary market's confidence in the consumer track is rapidly repairing, and funds are accelerating to gather in this area.
For Sequoia China, the consumer track has always been one of the three key areas of its layout. From IP trends, tourism to sports, Sequoia China can be seen. It has accurately invested in a number of well-known consumer companies such as Bubble Mart, Mingming Busy, Beitani, Kayou, Gu Ming, etc., and many of them are the earliest investors.
Hu Ruodi, a partner of Sequoia China, once said that Sequoia had consumer investments when it was founded in 2005. It has continued to be optimistic about and tracked China's catering and retail industries and continued to explore underwater projects. This investment strategy has allowed the institution to gain a lot in the consumer field. For example, Guming, which it invested in from 2019 to 2020, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February 2025, and its market value was nearly three times that of the first day of IPO; Mingming Busy was listed in January 2026, becoming the "No. 1 snack stock", with a market value that once exceeded HK$90 billion.
Related news
Dong Wei, who just resigned as CEO of Nike China, went to Sequoia China
On March 31, a reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald confirmed that Dong Wei, the former Nike Greater China leader, will officially join Sequoia China as an investment partner on April 1.
It should be noted that from a time perspective, Dong Wei's transition to the track can be described as "seamless."
On January 21, Nike announced that Greater China leader Angela Dong would officially step down from her post on March 31. At the same time, Nike announced the appointment of Cathy Sparks as the new vice president and general manager of Nike Greater China.
It should also be noted that Dong Wei's resignation from Nike seemed sudden.
At the end of 2025, Nike announced that the heads of four regions including Greater China will directly enter the senior leadership management and report to the global CEO to accelerate the Win Now plan.
When it comes to specific executives, Dong Wei, chairman and CEO of Nike Greater China, has been further promoted. "I look forward to working more closely with her and the team." Elliott Hill, President and CEO of Nike Group, said at the performance meeting. In October 2024, Dong Wei has been promoted to chairman and CEO of Nike Greater China and served as global CEO of the ACG brand.
Dong Wei fashion photos
Objectively, Dong Wei has witnessed the ups and downs of Nike.
"Over the past two decades, she has held a number of important leadership positions in Greater China. During her tenure, Nike has been deeply involved in and witnessed many milestones in sports, culture and business development in Greater China, including the Beijing Olympics, the rapid rise of China's consumers and digital ecosystem, and the epidemic during the global epidemic. Challenge and recovery. Under Dong Wei’s leadership, Nike continues to promote the development of sports culture in Greater China through iconic brand activities such as the Shanghai Marathon, Nike High School Basketball League (CHBL), ACG Chongli 168 and ‘Down Station Dongdan’.” Nike commented on her in a press release.
Dong Wei comes from a financial background and served as the CFO of Nike China until he moved to the No. 1 position at Nike China. Employees speak well of her, and Nike's operations under her rule have always been relatively standardized.
According to a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald, Dong Wei was promoted to a high position by He Yanfeng, which made her resignation even more unexpected.
The reasons for these changes may be related to the pressure on Nike's performance in China.
In the latest financial quarter ending at the end of November 2025, Nike's sales in China fell 16% year-on-year to US$1.423 billion, and EBIT (profit before interest and tax) fell 49% year-on-year. Among them, Nike's direct business fell by 18% (digital business fell by 36%, store business fell by 5%); wholesale business fell by 15%.
"Store traffic has declined, product sales rates have been weak during the season, and the overall aging inventory level in the market is high. Our brand has gradually become a discount brand in the minds of consumers (especially in digital channels), which has affected the high-end positioning of the entire integrated market. These challenges have led to an increase in the proportion of discount sales and a decline in price The cycle of expansion, increased sales-related returns, higher wholesale discounts, and high scrapping costs to clear market inventory has had a significant impact on the profitability of Greater China," Matthew Friend, Nike's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said at the performance meeting. Friend) explained.
Behind the scenes, competition in China's sports market is becoming fiercer.
For example, amid market fluctuations, the growth rates of Anta Group's basic ANTA brands and FILA have slowed down significantly. In 2025, Anta's main brand sales increased by 3.7% year-on-year to 34.754 billion yuan; FILA brand revenue increased by 6.9% year-on-year to 28.469 billion yuan. In the same year, Li Ning's revenue increased by 3.2% year-on-year to 29.6 billion yuan.
The person who took over Dong Wei's position in Nike China was Cathy.
According to Nike, Cathy has 25 years of experience working for Nike. She started her career in a retail position at the Portland Niketown store and subsequently held important leadership positions in multiple markets around the world. She previously served as vice president and general manager of Nike Asia Pacific and Latin America (APLA) and has experience in driving business transformation and growth.
"Cathy has a profound insight into sports culture and will lead the Nike Greater China team to continue to deepen the connection with consumers and open a new chapter in leading Nike Greater China." Nike said.
Compared with Dong Wei, Cathy has relatively limited experience in China. Her advantage is that she has a retail background and more “globalization” experience.
This may imply that Nike is adjusting its direction in China. For example, store adjustment has always been the focus of Nike's reform in China. At the same time, the North American market is the first to resume growth, which may make Nike's board of directors feel that it needs to give the Chinese market some new directions. In the latest financial quarter, Nike's North American sales increased 9% year-on-year to US$5.633 billion.
It should also be noted that as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics approaches, Nike may need to integrate resources in various market segments in advance. Cathy's professional background may help Nike Greater China better integrate into the global strategy and facilitate the deployment of resources across regions.
However, given the particularity of the Chinese market, Cathy faces considerable challenges.
For example, the strong rise of more localized domestic brands can be explained by their market share. Euromonitor data shows that in 2021, Adidas' market share in China reached 15%, which has dropped to 8.7% in 2024. For comparison, Nike's market share fell from 18.1% to 16.2%, maintaining its first position. Anta's market share increased from 9.8% to 10.5%, ranking second.
According to the 21st Century Business Herald reporter, Cathy is very interested in the Chinese market and is quickly adapting to the new position in various ways.
Returning to Dong Wei, joining Sequoia China will indeed open up new possibilities.
Sequoia China attaches great importance to the apparel track. In December 2025, Sequoia China disclosed that it would acquire a controlling stake in Golden Goose Group SpA. Golden Goose's flagship product is the famous "little dirty shoes".
In addition, Sequoia China’s invested companies in the fashion industry include Xiyin, AMI PARIS, etc.
Whether it is post-investment or project review, Dong Wei’s Nike experience is helpful to Sequoia China.
