About Shízhōng and Simon Luo Wei
A consultant who grew up in China and was educated and works in Europe, putting the methods of management consulting and China's oldest classic on the same table.
Founder
Simon Luo Wei (罗伟) was born and raised in China and moved to Italy in his late teens; his studies and work have since spanned China, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
He holds a degree in economics and management from Bocconi University, studied economics and international policy at USI Lugano and public policy and human development at UNU-MERIT in Maastricht, and carried out master's-level research in philosophy and theology at the University of Lucerne. He holds GARP's Financial Risk Fundamentals (FFR) certificate.
His career includes supply-chain management and corporate social responsibility in Italian luxury fashion and project work in a listed engineering and energy group. He has worked in linguistic and cross-cultural mediation since 2012 and has been a sworn court translator and interpreter for Chinese in Milan since 2015.
Through simonluowei.com he supports companies between Europe and Greater China with market entry, cross-cultural integration and negotiation; he also runs the language and culture platform Cinese360.
Why the I Ching
Management science is good at 'what' and 'how', less good at 'when' and 'how much'. The Book of Changes is precisely a book about timing, position and measure.
It was interpreted again and again by Confucian commentators, by Wang Bi, Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, and read in different ways by Leibniz, Jung and Niels Bohr. Its value lies not in mystery but in being a language for thinking about change, tested over three thousand years.
We use it as a mirror and a map, never as prophecy. That is the fundamental difference between our work and fortune-telling.
Principles
- Confidentiality
- Client identity and content are confidential by default; an NDA can be signed.
- Honesty
- Plain about the limits of the method; we decline work that is not a fit.
- Independence
- No commissions from third parties.
- Two languages, two cultures
- Chinese, Italian and English, with an ear for context and subtext on both sides.
- Collaboration
- We work with licensed lawyers, accountants and psychology professionals, and refer to them when needed.
Team and network
Engagements are led personally by Simon Luo Wei. Small teams are assembled as needed from management consulting, cultural institutions and international engineering projects, including experience gained in production management at Teatro alla Scala and in projects connected with Sinopec.
Related sites
- simonluowei.com: Europe–China business advisory, mediation and translation
- cinese360.com: Chinese language, culture, art and philosophy