How Zhipeng Dai saw boundless opportunities at Adobe

As the head of license management for Greater China, Zhipeng Dai knew there was boundless opportunity for Adobe when he joined back in 2009. Fast forward over a decade to 2020 and the business in China is still going strong, Zhipeng’s team has grown and his passion for success continues to drive him.

Why did you initially join Adobe, and can you tell us a little about your role?

Prior to joining Adobe in 2009, I was at Autodesk where I managed a large license compliance team, developing and growing internal resources and assets from scratch, which contributed to 70%+ of overall sales revenue. In 2009, I was approached about a role at Adobe and the local leader showed me the untapped market potential across China. As opposed to Autodesk China, the Adobe business was literally a “small potato” in all facets - revenue generation, partner ecosystem readiness, local supporting resources, coverage and team structure. But considering the size of Adobe’s global business, I thought there was a lot of potential for the China market which I could explore. This motivated me as it was an exciting opportunity to build the licence management function from the ground up.

As the head of license management for Greater China (GC), our team is an integral part of the revenue engine by continuously supporting GC Digital Media high-growth excellency. My team’s responsibility, simply put, is to drive efforts through a combination of license management activities and anti-piracy programs in developing and growing in-region revenue generation across Greater China. We have grown from a two-person team back in 2009 to a team of twenty-five today!

Over 10 years at Adobe is a great accomplishment, what has kept you here?

Digital transformation is a never-ending journey. I believe that this trend will amplify and lead the business world during the next ten years and Adobe is a powerhouse in leading the way. I believe that we can continue to ride the wave in China, especially with new Chinese infrastructure initiatives that are playing out like 5G, Cloud, AI, new energy car, IOT, big data, grid, industrial internet, and more.

What do you love most about working at Adobe?

For me, it’s the superb employee experience and how we’re being taken good care of and supporting each other with strong integrity and ethical behaviour. Our leadership team is always communicating clear direction, and managers always care about employee development. I think that’s why Adobe has been named on Fortune’s list of the World’s Best Workplaces multiple years in a row.

What have you gained most from working at Adobe?

A passion to be successful on both a professional and personal level.

What advice do you have for people who may be interested in joining Adobe?

Be humble, be creative and open to new ideas/perspectives. Especially under the current COVID-19 pandemic environment, the businesses that make it through downturns or uncertainty and emerge stronger are the ones that are nimble enough and resourceful enough to create new opportunities. That’s what Adobe is all about.

Lastly, if given a chance, who would you like to be for a day?

Our chief product officer and executive vice president of Creative Cloud, Scott Belsky. Lately I have been very interested in product development and I want to know more about how ideas are made from that perspective. Scott has written a book called The Messy Middle and I have recently started to read it! If I could get the chance, experiencing what and how Scott spends his working day on would be so interesting.