Chris Torrens
Guest Speaker
Managing Director, Greater China, APCO Worldwide
Guest Speaker
Managing Director, Greater China, APCO Worldwide
Chris Torrens, APCO’s managing director of the Greater China region, is a veteran risk and compliance expert with more than three decades of experience providing strategic advice for multinational clients across various sectors.
Before joining APCO, Chris worked at Control Risks for more than 20 years. He served as partner in the Greater China and North Asia region where he led the East China geomarket out of Shanghai before moving to Beijing to lead the North China geomarket. During this time, he oversaw the growth and diversification of the company’s Chinese client base. Before this role, Chris was based in London as the partner responsible for the Global Risk Analysis practice for Europe, Middle East and Africa, managing all political, security and operational risk analysis for the region.
Chris also served as a Shanghai-based associate director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ advisory practice and as the Hong Kong-based head of research at Batey Burn, a UK government relations and public affairs consultancy, which was acquired by APCO in 1999.
Chris has lived in Greater China for nearly 25 years. He holds an MBA from the China-Europe International Business School, a BA Honours degree in Modern Chinese Studies from Leeds University and speaks Mandarin. His book, “Doing Business in China,” was published by The Economist in 2010.
Chris currently serves as vice-chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in China.