Persistence Builds, Breakthrough Prevails – Zhang Hua from Seebon at Harvard China Forum 2025

Images: Image from Harvard China Forum 2025 | Right 1: Zhang Hua

Boston – As spring returns to Boston, so does the Harvard China Forum—an annual convergence of Eastern and Western thought, innovation, and cultural dialogue. Among this year’s most anticipated voices was Zhang Hua, Chairwoman of Seebon Group, Co-founder and CEO of MananaUnited Digital Technology, and Industrial Consultant for Nansha District, Guangzhou.

Elegant, resilient, and collaborative—these were the three words Harvard students used to describe Zhang Hua. More than a serial entrepreneur, she is a fearless pioneer of cross-disciplinary innovation. During the Forum, Zhang Hua engaged in an in-depth conversation by the Charles River with Yunyi Qian, a graduate student from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. From personal philosophy to technological transformation, corporate strategy to leadership ethos, Zhang Hua offered a masterclass in vision, grit, and future-facing thinking.

A Marathoner’s Mindset Meets Tech-Driven Breakthroughs

Zhang Hua describes herself as “a practitioner who crosses the boundaries of marathon perseverance and technological problem-solving.” With her signature wit, she joked that the Forum gave her a “three-day trial pass for underachievers at Harvard,” but in those brief days, she reaffirmed her long-term bets on AI-driven healthcare data infrastructure and enterprise-grade foundation models. She emphasized that while deploying AI is vital, entrepreneurs must remain anchored in ethical business values.

Key Breakthrough: From Experience-Driven to Tech-Led Strategy

Reflecting on her career trajectory, Zhang Hua identified her greatest strategic evolution: transitioning from experience-driven decisions to tech-led foresight. As early as 2012, she boldly invested 130 million RMB to deploy IBM’s strategic planning and system implementation solutions at Seebon—then a bold move in the labor-intensive HR services sector. Today, Seebon leads the industry into a new era of AI + RPA automation and will soon launch its latest product: “Sandbox HR”—an AI-powered social security assistant.

On Choosing Co-Founders: Complementary Skills, Shared Values

Having co-founded multiple ventures, Zhang Hua distilled her philosophy on identifying co-founders into three criteria: complementary skills, aligned values, and high resilience under pressure. “Only when values align can collaboration truly endure across cycles,” she explained. Zhang Hua credits the lasting success of MananaUnited’s core team to its clear division of responsibilities and deep mutual trust—elements that helped build several industry-defining projects in just four years.

Tech as a Driver of Transformation

Discussing Seebon’s key inflection points, Zhang Hua highlighted one principle: “True breakthroughs happen when we predict client needs and leverage tech to meet them in advance.” This customer-centric foresight led Seebon to pioneer digital transformation in HR services well before it became mainstream. She strongly believes, “Strategic foresight beats reactive market responses.”

Seebon’s proprietary SeeBot, a social security service robot, integrates RPA, AI, and operations research to automate complex workflows end-to-end. By combining neural networks with knowledge graphs, SeeBot builds an “intelligent policy engine” capable of handling multi-city operations with a single click. It intelligently allocates computing resources and breaks through longstanding policy barriers in the social security domain.

AI as Catalyst, Not Threat

“AI is not a threat—it’s a catalyst for human potential,” Zhang Hua asserted. She envisions a future where “AI + humans” co-reshape fields like healthcare, education, and work. She encourages young professionals to embrace AI, learn its mechanics, and carve out their own unique roles within the ecosystem.

As a leader and talent scout, Zhang Hua is actively seeking a Chief Technology Officer in AI, issuing an open invitation to top global talent. She sees Nansha, Guangzhou as a strategic pivot in China’s national development—an emerging highland for young professionals seeking purpose, innovation, and national impact.

Two Cultures, One Belief

Zhang Hua leads two vastly different companies—Seebon, a well-established platform, and MananaUnited, a startup in a high-pressure AI race. But she says both are built on the same twin pillars: a deep belief in technology and a spirit of resilience.

“At Seebon, we prioritize stability and customer experience. At MananaUnited, the urgency is existential—if we don’t reinvent ourselves constantly, we fail.” This dual-cultural approach demonstrates Zhang Hua’s ability to adapt leadership styles to organizational context while holding fast to core values.

Leadership Through Lived Challenge and Flow

Image from Harvard China Forum 2025 | Right 1: Zhang Hua

A seasoned marathon runner, Zhang Hua integrates sports philosophy into her leadership. She once led her executive team on a 100-kilometer, 3-day trek across the Gobi Desert to spark growth in extreme environments. Every year, Seebon selects ten top-performing employees for an all-expenses-paid overseas trip—with family. “It’s the simplest and most effective way to build loyalty and cohesion,” she said.

Local Roots, Global Reach

On Seebon’s path to globalization, Zhang Hua cited a two-and-a-half-year strategic partnership with the Boston Consulting Group. Their collaboration helped refine Seebon’s global roadmap while staying rooted in China’s service strengths. “Only by deeply cultivating local services and combining them with a global perspective,” Zhang Hua emphasized, “can a company truly go from China to the world.”

Advice for the Next Generation

Speaking to the Harvard Forum’s students and young professionals, Zhang Hua offered three insights:

1.No need to worry, no blind following
“AI is powerful, but it’s just a tool. What matters is tuning into your true inner voice.”

2.Embrace AI proactively:
 “If you’re curious, take the first step. With mentorship and teamwork, the learning curve flattens.”
3.Now is the time to return and build in China:
 “The opportunity in AI is enormous. Come home and find fertile ground for your values and ambitions.”

Flow State, Fitness, and Life Beyond Work

Though she can no longer join the Boston Marathon due to managing two companies, fitness remains a central part of Zhang Hua’s life. She maintains her body fat between 16–18% and stays active through regular training.

She draws inspiration from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow, dividing her time into three intentional zones: high-performance work, physical training, and seemingly “meaningless but relaxing” pleasures—like food, fashion, and spontaneous shopping.

Conclusion

Zhang Hua’s appearance at the 2025 Harvard China Forum wasn’t just a showcase of entrepreneurial grit—it was a rare convergence of strategic insight, ethical foresight, and human empathy.

In an era reshaped by artificial intelligence, her core values—marathon spirit, strategic foresight, AI ethics, and team cohesion—stand out as essential capabilities for future-ready organizations.

Zhang Hua’s journey proves that persistence builds the foundation, but only breakthroughs prevail.

Note: Interview video recording by David Li

By Reedstone, MD, PhD, Jiahui Zheng, Yunyi Qian