About Max-Matching Entertainments

A leading developer, investor, and operator of location-based entertainment in China with rapid expansion across Asia.

Spearheading the creation of international IP visitor experiences featuring several IP themed LBE partnership with Mattel (Barbie, Thomas & Friends, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, etc.), Hasbro (Transformers, Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, Nerf, etc.), WildBrain (Peanuts, Teletubbies, In the Night Garden… etc.), Aardman (Shaun the Sheep), Crayola, and many more.

Successfully curated and organized various international IP themed projects in China and the United States, providing integrated solutions across theme parks, Family Entertainment Centers (FEC), theme hotels, themed retail and F&B, and pop-up visitor experiences in partnership with international IPs, government stakeholders and real estate groups.

Committed to supporting brands and clients with integrated solutions best suited for each market - combining world-class entertainment brands and local market insights and expertise.

Our Team
Owen Zhao

Owen Zhao

President

Dedicated to the development, investment and management of themed entertainment and location-based entertainment for 30 years.

Successfully launched IP-themed projects, including Peppa Pig theme park, Shaun the Sheep theme park, FEC clusters, featuring Hasbro, Mattel, Crayola, WildBrain, and many others.

Elected as President in 2019, of the Asia Pacific Division of Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), and thus becomes the first Chinese president in TEA's 30-year history. During his tenure, Owen was committed to promoting the globalisation process of the Asia-Pacific themed entertainment industry. Leading Asia-Pacific themed entertainment companies to proactively participate in the global field, Owen helped to introduce to the Asia-Pacific market with rich resources of the international themed entertainment industry, and substantially solidified TEA's thought leadership in the Asia-Pacific region.

Listed as Blooloop 50 Theme Park Influencer in 2023.

Able Lim

Able Lim

Partner

20+ years of brand & commercial experience for the brand communication consultancy, consumer goods, travel and hospitality industries;

Former Marketing Director at Merlin, responsible for product management, marketing management, public relation management, and market development for Merlin's midway attractions, including Madame Tussauds, SEALIFE and LEGO Discovery Center;

Strategic counselling on market research, marketing, and communications for Ministry of Tourism - Republic of Maldives in China.

In charge of promoting the European Union agricultural food and beverage products in Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea and currently for China.

Former Marketing Director at Lindt & Sprüngli Asia Pacific;

Strategic counselling on market research, marketing, and communications for global brands such as Remy Cointreau, Pernod Richard, Intel® Education, Kodak Alaris in Asia.

Bao Lei

Rodney Bao

Partner

Former Vice President & CEO of Shanghai Jinjiang International Travel Co., Ltd. and COO of Shanghai Jinjiang Online Network Service Co., Ltd.

Great achievement in construction of integrated E-commerce platform (Travel+Retail), innovative O2O application of smart tourism and big data analysis system.

Established during 2005 to 2010 the global distribution platform for Jinjiang Hotel, through which synchronises the room status, pricing, and order status on both hotel management system and OTA platforms, such as Expedia, Booking.com and Ctrip.

Established during 2011 to 2015 the membership system for Jinjiang Hotel, and boosted the member number from scratch to 180 million.

Participated during 2015 to 2018 in the mergers and acquisitions and system integration for Jinjiang Groups with Louvre Hotels Group, Carlson Companies, Plateno Hotel Group, Vienna Hotel Group, increasing the number of hotels under the group from 1,000 to 10,000.

In charge during 2019 to 2021 of core project for Shanghai government: established the app and mini programme“TravellingSH”, which got over 10 million users in less than 3 years.

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Li Renhe

Partner

15+ years of planning and management experience in the Internet and wireless Internet industry, good at promotion and realization in the field of copyright.

Served as the general manager during 2019 to 2021 for Nanjing Yunyou, in charge of the operation, promotion and profit management of music and animation on vendors', douyin, kuaishou, and other internet platforms.

Served as the founder and CEO during 2017 to 2018 for Beijing Zhongyu.

Served as the VP during 2014 to 2017 for Hong Kong (Stock) Yunyou Group, in charge of its game release, distribution, investment and management.

Served as the general manager during 2010 to 2014 for Zhongchang Yineng Music and for Beijing Huasheng Fenglin Music. In 2010, led Zhongchang Yineng Music becoming the exclusive music partner for Guangzhou Asian Games, successfully producing and promoting the album for Asian Games, winning great fame for both the album and the company.

Served as the general manager and CEO during 2008 to 2010 for Huayou Jinxinzi Records, producing music ranking top 3 within the domestic billboard for 3 consecutive years.

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Freya Xin

Partner

Served Metro AG China and Amway China on retails management, government relations and CSR system establishment before joining Merlin Entertainments.

Served Madame Tussauds Shanghai in 2006, in charge of official launch, marketing, business development, and celebrities relations maintenance & management in mainland China for the site in Shanghai, Wuhan, Beijing, and Chongqing.

During her service at Merlin Entertainments, Freya established the Tussauds celebrity database, essentially strengthening the celebrity relations for Tussauds Asia and Tussauds Global, covering the fields of Science, Government, Arts, Entertainments, and Sports. Freya successfully held several waxwork events, including the global announcement of the waxworks for Barack Obama and Lady Gaga, curating the waxwork for Hunan TV host He Jiong. The team boosted the brand awareness of Madame Tussauds Shanghai by 95+%, ranking championship of EBITDA for 2 consecutive years.

During the service at Amway, Freya established the CSR project system for Amway East China, and held 150+ events, successfully planning and executing of well-known projects such as the Arctic and Antarctic scientific expedition sponsorship activities, Hand in Hand National Children's Charity Project, Nutrilite Vitality Health Run, etc. She enhanced the reputation of Amway (China) in China. She was also in charge of the maintenance and expansion of high-level government relations such as Shanghai's industrial and commercial affairs, public security economic investigation, consumer rights protection committee, Shanghai Charity Foundation and Shanghai Women's Federation.

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Gary Porter

Creative Director

25+ years of business, attraction, and tourism integrated design, managing and mentoring teams for creative, schematic, and detailed design. Expertise in presenting the brand image and brand message from all dimensions, with deep and unique insights in all perspectives of design, including the material, furnishment, installment, and budget management.

Creates and develops the visual for top luxury brands, including Hermès, Cartier, LVMH, Bvlgari, Moschino, Loewe, Zegna, Maserati, Stella McCartney, Fendi, etc.

Leads the design and development of LBE projects such as family entertainment centers, theme hotels, themed F&B and retails, and pop-up experiences for top IP groups, including Hasbro, Mattel, etc.

Leads the visual and store design for several top Chinese commercial complexes, including Xintiandi, Taikoo, etc.

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Harry Zhu

Deputy General Manager

A domestic senior cultural travel operation expert, with 15+ years of tourism operation management experience. Capable of managing multiple theme park teams at the same time, systematically building a new media matrix, laying out a digital marketing system, and operating cultural tourism projects and commercial projects at different stages. Harry has refined and summarized the "people + system + KPI" management model in the operation system, continuously improving the performance of cultural tourism projects and optimising the operation process;

Served Merlin Entertainments, Longfor Group, China Resources Group (Dong-e-Ejiao), and China Youth Travel Service, for their projects management and operations.

Served as Senior Operation Director at Merlin Entertainments Group China, responsible for the operation, training, development, and management of multiple Merlin projects (Madame Tussauds, SEALIFE, LEGO Discovery Center, etc.).

Experienced in theme park design and cultural tourism operation management. Led for several tourism projects on IP selection, negotiation, contracting, construction, and implementation. Continuing studying on and practising the standardisation of attractions, Harry has been responsible for the construction and operation for a number of scenic spots and parks to create the A-level scenic spots (National Tourism Administration A-level scenic spots). He specializes in the commercial layout of cultural tourism projects and cultural tourism investment operations, and applying the operational philosophies and methodologies in the park pre-planning and design.

Christian Kuang

Christian Kuang

Deputy General Manager of Cultural Tourism Department

15+ years experience in Culture and Tourism industry. Served for China Leading enterprises, including Caesar Tourism, Summit Intelligence, Wanda Group, Cedar Holding, China Culture and Tourism Group, etc. Good at the integration of industry and finance and investment coordination in the cultural tourism industry, he has rich experience in investment and development and operation management, and has led several construction of corporate innovation business sectors.

Mainly engaged in investment consulting, creative planning, planning and design, marketing management, operation trusteeship, investment and mergers and acquisitions of cultural and commercial tourism projects. With income control as the core, he integrates investment research and judgment, project planning, planning and design, marketing, operation management, and asset revitalization, leading the team to establish a light asset operations department, introducing domestic and foreign leading IP resources, and assisting the real estate sector in acquiring industrial land;

Served as the head of Aoyuan Yingde Chocolate Kingdom. In charge of the operation and marketing for the theme park.

Participated in Establishment of “Entrusted Operation Mode of Scenic Spots" and "Standardized Management System of Scenic Spots“

Good government connections and resource acquisition capabilities in Southwest, South China, and Central China. He has practical experience in the entire process of "investment, financing, operation, management, and exit" of projects, as well as experience in the creation and operation of several national AAAAA-level tourist attractions.

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Ginger Jin

Deputy General Manager of Cultural Tourism Department

15 years of professional experience in integrated marketing-communication campaign, with expertise in branding, marketing strategy, Online-to-offline all touchpoints consumer reach, and project coordination and management.

Served international consumer brands, including Remy Martin, Heineken, Macallan, Coca-Cola etc.; established solid partnership with brands, media, KOLs, celebrities, and vendors to empowering brands and IP-themed projects.

Specialized in integrated marketing campaigns in the industries of themed entertainment, tourism, fashion, lifestyle, luxury, and sports tournaments, with deep insights into the IP industry and marketing strategy.

Successfully established several multiple-IP-themed pop-up projects and location-based entertainment experiences in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Nanjing, and other top-tier cities, and was in charge of marketing, operation and management .

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Per Shao

Project Director

Registered Urban Planner and Landscape Designer in China.

10+ years of experience in urban, landscape, and tourism design and development.

Served several top design firms, including CSCEC in China and PPAS in Germany, where he had led the team on project planning and designing, with his expertise and insights into site selection and evaluation, strategic planning, designing, construction and marketing for tourism projects.

Led for Sunac Resorts on destination design and development; participated in several Sunac Resorts and Destinations development in Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, Shaotong, and other regions.

Led for Shimao on the design and development of several resorts and rural vitalization projects; developed 10+ projects in Jiangsu, Fujian, Yunnan, and other regions, and established a mature and successful model.

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Jacky Pan

Project Director

15+ years of experience in project management for mega complexes (including commerce, hotels, and offices), with expertise in government relation, design management, procurement management, project management, procedure management, security and risk management, and strong competence in procurement and cost management.

Expertise in procurement and quality control, effectively minimising the variations and claims and managing construction application, designing, procurement, and construction of the projects within the budget and timeline requirements.

Served as Senior Construction Director for Nianhuawan Culture Investment and as senior FM Director for IKEA China, in charge of FM management, procurement and budgeting, operation and maintenance, and installment supervision.

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Spancer Yan

Head for IP Consumer Products and Merchandise

8+ years of experience in design, development, and management for IP-themed toys and merchandise, mastering the entire chain for domestic original IP through incubation, operation, and profiting, with strong product supply chain and R&D resources.

Established and was in charge of SKULLPANDA and DIMOO WORLD, the top IPs of Pop Mart, fully responsible for their R&D, marketing, and retails. (In 2023, SKULLPANDA and DIMOO WORLD respectively achieved a revenue of 1.02 billion and 730 million yuan.)

Expertise in planning, development and management for all categories of IP-themed consumer products and merchandise.

Experience of establishing the department from scratch, and of promoting its collaboration with trendy artists' brands.

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Neal Zhang

Operation Director for themed retails

10+ years of experience in food and beverage management.

3+ years of experience in staff training with strong competency in in-store operation and execution, daily management and staff orientation.

4+ years of experience in regional management of 50+ offline stores and franchising.

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Ellen Zhang

Financial Manager

Registered accountant with ACCA qualifications.

18+ years of experience finance management, IPO and accounting consultancy for the transnational enterprises within the industry of entertainment, real estates, and manufacturing.

Served as head of finance for Alpha Group for 6 years; in charge of finance management for its digital media, and mergers and acquisitions and funding management.

Served several top accounting firms on various corporate and IPO auditing and IPO strategies.

Experienced in corporate auditing, finance management, and tax management for the companies within National Equities Exchange and Quotations, unlisted companies, and foreign-funded enterprises.

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