Y ao Kuizhang is the chairman of Hebei Yangyuan Zhihui Beverage, the company behind the immensely popular "Six Walnuts" (Liu Ge He Tao) walnut milk brand. He started his career as a technician at a state-owned liquor company before taking over its struggling beverage division in 1997. Through a management buyout and strategic restructuring, Yao revitalized the business, creating a new category of plant-based protein drinks in China.

His marketing genius, positioning walnut milk as a "brain-boosting" drink for students and intellectuals, turned the product into a national phenomenon. Yao successfully led the company to an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2018, which was one of the largest listings of that year. He owns a substantial stake in the company and continues to drive its product diversification and market expansion strategies.