By his early twenties, Pan Gongsheng’s ambition had already propelled him from a farming village in eastern China to a prestigious Beijing graduate school, where he translated books from English — despite never having been abroad.
"Among our classmates, we all thought Pan was impressive because he didn’t have a great college degree,” remembers Liu Xin, a Renmin University professor who studied with China’s new central banker in the 1980s. "But he had English skills outstanding enough to translate a book. We all thought it wasn’t an easy feat.”
Pan has since made a career out of exceeding expectations. In the 21st century’s first decade, as a state bank executive he twice captained initial public offerings that set a world record, boosting global investor confidence in China and earning himself a reputation as a "financial rock star.”