Jay Wang

Jay is committed to the mission of helping individuals and teams reach their full potential at work and beyond.  

Jay was born in Jiangsu, China and grew up in New York which has contributed to his global mindset as well as his ability to navigate culture and language divides. He is a veteran of the Beijing tech and startup scene. Before joining Next Level Communication, Jay led global organizational culture efforts for ByteDance, the world’s largest unicorn. Jay also ran his own corporate training business for many years, helping multinationals, startups, and even SOEs in China improve their collective communication, creativity, and collaboration at a team and organizational level.

Jay is based in Beijing, China, where he has studied and worked since 2010.

Why Next Level Communication?

I joined Next Level Communication because I felt aligned with the mission and values of the co-founders, Jonathan Rechtman and Quoc Tran, as well as the type of impact that we are delivering to our clients.

I strongly believe in the power of communication in shaping the growth of individuals as well as organizations, and I believe that this team occupies a unique niche in bridging the communication divide between East and West.

Tell us about your personal communication journey.

Although I now consider myself an ambivert, for much of my childhood and early adult life, I was quite introverted,  shy, and a very reluctant communicator. Since university, I’ve made a conscious and intentional effort to regularly push myself outside of my comfort zone—going to social gatherings where I knew no one, signing up for public presentations, and finally, joining an improv theater troupe that would regularly perform in front of packed audiences.

Through repetition, the fear of public speaking not only subsided, but it has also now become one of my biggest strengths. My intentional and studious approach to communication has also meant a focus on the details of everyday interactions. This has helped me continuously improve my own communication skills as well as impart those skills to others.

What are your interests outside of work?

I mentioned improv earlier as part of my communication journey—it has also been the greatest gift on a personal level. Being on stage has not only honed my public speaking skills, it has allowed to explore my creative side while also introducing me to a global tribe of like-minded people, many of whom have become close friends.

Besides improv, I’m also an avid player and watcher of basketball as well as a serious boardgame geek—I love the strategy and competition.

What is something about you that people may not know?

People may not know that I briefly considered becoming a professional poker player in high school—having been swept up in the poker craze in the early 2000s. Those dreams died in freshman year of college, after online poker was banned in the United States.

What are some growth or learning goals that you are working on?

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really begun to put more time and energy into personal finance, and I would love to become a better investor. I’ve also begun my journey into mindfulness and meditation, and I would like to implement it daily.