Chinese authorities have approved the appointment of Zhu Tong, former interpreter of Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, as the chairperson of Deutsche Bank (China). Zhu switched disciplines to join the company in 2003 and was promoted as the general manager of China in 2011, before taking the helm of the foreign bank’s operations in China.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced its approval last month.

Zhu was born in 1968 to a family of diplomats. Her father was an envoy, while her mother, who speaks fluent Italian, worked at the state-owned China Radio International. Upon graduating from the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, Zhu joined a program by the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was trained to become a representative to the United Nations.

In 1990, she joined the Chinese Foreign Ministry as an interpreter and has translated for multiple national leaders. She rose to fame in 1997, after her interpretation for Zhu Rongji at Hong Kong’s handover ceremony was hailed as “an impeccable translation.”

Together with Zhang Jianmin, current ambassador to the Czech Republic, the two were known as the “Golden Boy and Jade Maiden” of the Chinese foreign ministry back then.

In 2003, Zhu resigned from her job to join Deutsche Bank as chief operating officer, participating in major moves such as the IPO of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and that of the Agricultural Bank of China.

Netizens called Zhu a role model of successful career change.

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