Local to global: How Yihe is empowering small sellers

When I was first approached about the role almost four years ago, I was honestly surprised. I was thinking, “What could I possibly contribute?” as I didn’t have a background in advertising. But after a few conversations with the recruiter, I realized something important: The skill sets required were actually quite transferable. It wasn’t about deep technical knowledge; it was more about leadership.

Then I spoke with the hiring manager, and he shared this inspiring vision for Amazon Ads and the impact we could have on supporting cross-border sellers, not just in terms of business success but also their personal growth. I left that conversation feeling empowered and confident. That’s when I knew I wanted to join.

I’m on the global Small and Medium Business (SMB) Marketing, Asia Cross-Borders team. SMBs make up the majority of our customer base, and they often have limited resources to advertise their products, whether that’s budget, technical knowledge, or team size.

Our mission in the Education and Channel team is to enable China-based advertisers and partners to grow their businesses through education solutions and technology. The main way we do this is through webinars, self-service learning platforms, in-person bootcamps, and syndicated education, all designed to equip our customers with the knowledge they need.

It falls into a few categories. First, there’s information: If there’s a new feature available to advertisers, we let them know. More importantly, we teach them how to use those features, manage budgets, optimize campaigns, and understand return on investment—all tactical, actionable things.

We also work closely with delivery partners, such as training agencies that serve our advertisers. We set quality standards, so the content is accurate and up to date, and we co-create education materials with them. They bring frontline experience and practical use cases that really resonate with our audience.

When I joined, I could see there was such a hunger for knowledge among sellers. People wanted to understand cross-border advertising, but there weren’t enough resources. That gap between demand and support is a big opportunity, and that’s what really excites me.

Many of our advertisers here in China sell abroad—to the US, Europe, and other global markets. We support them to do this.

We span four cities in China. Most are in Shanghai, but I’m based in Chengdu. We also work closely with global stakeholders in places like New York, Seattle, Milan, and London. It’s great exposure and gives us a truly international perspective.

I’m lucky; my team is full of smart, self-driven people with high standards. As a manager, I see my value in helping them prioritize and become better storytellers—showing them how to connect their work to business impact and communicate it effectively to global stakeholders. That’s how we scale our impact.

A great example is that we developed a partner education program in China that’s now been adopted in the US and Europe. What we built locally turned out to be globally relevant, and that visibility helps us continue to innovate on behalf of our customers.

What’s struck me is how open and generous Amazon leaders are—always willing to share their insights. That’s been a huge part of my own growth.

What we do involves a lot of zero-to-one projects, so naturally, there are big challenges. But those challenges are deeply tied to innovation. For example, we were the first team to launch a mobile solution for advertiser education and the first in Asia to experiment with different types of partners to scale our efforts. We’re an innovation-driven team that’s always looking for new ways to make a difference for advertisers.

Trust and integrity also matter a lot to us, especially when we think about customer obsession. Every time we come up with something new or revisit an existing approach, we ask ourselves, “Is this solving a real customer pain point?” We hold ourselves to a really high bar when it comes to launching new initiatives.

Amazon is the perfect place if you want to achieve something. I know some people worry that Amazon is too fast, too intense. But if you’re hungry to grow, if you want to break through your limits, if you want to be inspired by your peers and leaders, then Amazon Ads is the place to be.