Harry Xia knows what is important when it comes to recruiting, educating and inspiring the future leaders of the San Joaquin Valley’s business community.

Xia had more than 15 years of experience in financial and international management for multinational corporations in North America and the Asian Pacific before switching gears into higher education in 2011.

His work included helping to build Ticketmaster’s operations in China where he was chief financial officer. Xia served as director of finance, Asia Pacific Zone, of a key McDonald's system suppliers, and worked as area marketing manager for the largest supermarket chain in Texas. He also established Coca-Cola's key account team in Shanghai, China, in the late '90s.

"For the first 15 years of my career, in the challenging but rewarding corporate world, I managed to become a productive company executive of multinational operations in the fastest growing market of the world," Xia said.

He received his bachelor’s degree in science from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; his master's degree in hospitality management from the University of Houston; and his doctorate in business administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Xia taught and served as the MBA program coordinator at the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, China, before moving to California. In 2016, he joined the Department of Finance and Business Law in the Craig School of Business and is now an associate professor and director of Graduate Business Programs for the Craig School.

"In the current stage of my career, I have this wonderful opportunity to share my knowledge and experience at universities across the Pacific Ocean to educate future business leaders in the two largest economies of the world," Xia said.

At Fresno State, Xia is responsible for the MBA and MBA for Executives programs.

"The most exciting part of my role is to participate in the process, to build the elite MBA programs, which are recognized as one of the best in the nation by the Princeton Review and accredited by the prestigious AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business," Xia said. "It is also a thrilling experience to interact with faculty from every department at the Craig School who contribute to the success of our MBA programs."

Xia served as the 2017-18 president of the Chinese-American Faculty Association at Fresno State and is now a consultant to the group. He is also a faculty mentor under the Mentorship Program, launched by CAFA to enhance student success and engagement.

In other pursuits, Xia enjoys world travel. The United States, Europe and Japan are his favorite destinations.

Married for 17 years, Xia has a 10-year-old son who likes the robotics competition and participates in the Exemplary Block “F” award.