Join us in welcoming Yiru Zhou as our new Area President of Greater China & Japan!
Born in China and trilingual in Mandarin, Japanese and English, Yiru earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, Japan and currently lives in Utah with his wife and children.
Over the course of his career, he’s worked in various sectors of the industry, including customer service, international development, regulatory affairs and sales. Having a strong foundation across the industry has allowed Yiru to approach his previous positions from a holistic point of view, knowing that it takes many different areas working in concert to make a successful company. His person-first, servant-leader approach has helped him engage and communicate with field leaders with ease, helping them build their businesses to new heights.
In his role, Yiru is excited to help create a strong foundation to grow the Greater China and Japan markets, and unify them under Partner.Co’s vision and mission. With John and Darren’s ambition of building a company that lasts not five or 10 years, but 100 years (or more!), Yiru said he’s up to the challenge and eager to get started.
Yiru’s combination of skills — being able to drive sales while still maintaining a bigger picture outlook that drives larger-picture decisions — that we saw and knew we needed to bring him on board, especially considering the record-setting year that he set with his previous company, breaking a five-year record for sales for the company in Asia. His immediate goal upon joining Partner.Co is to begin crafting a long-term, sustainable strategic plan tailored for Greater China and Japan in order to advance the company’s mission and vision across markets.
“In life, the stronger the foundation, the taller you can build. As I start my journey with Partner.Co, I will work hard to build the strongest foundation possible so that the sky is the limit for us.”
Yiru Zhou, Area President of Greater China & Japan
Yiru said he was drawn to Partner.Co after speaking with John and Darren and seeing the passion they have for the company. It was evident, he said, that they are in this for the long run, that they want to see everyone in the company succeed and are going to do everything they can to ensure that success.
“It was clear in speaking with Yiru that he fully resonates with Partner.Co’s ethos, which is something that is incredibly important to everyone here as we look not only to build the business but build the culture of our company and bring our vision to life around the world.”
John Wadsworth, Chief Brand Partner Officer
Outside of work, Yiru is an avid boxer (which he participated in at university) and enjoys reading. With his wife, he has two German Shepherds and an Akita, which they train as working and protection dogs.
We’re thrilled to have Yiru as part of our team. His industry experience and in-depth knowledge of the various cultures in our markets will be invaluable as we grow our footprint and unify our vision in Greater China and Japan.
Welcome, Yiru!