For over two decades, Jane Sun has been building a global travel powerhouse and a force for change.
Under her stewardship, Trip.com Group has become a global travel leader listed on both Nasdaq and HKEX. Yet beyond the numbers, Sun is driven by a larger purpose: to pursue the perfect trip for everyone and for a better world.
Scaling a Global Vision
Sun came on board as CFO in 2005, at a time when Trip.com Group was still finding its footing on Wall Street, valued between US$500 million to US$1 billion. “We were quite small then,” she recalls. “Few investors fully understood our potential, so I told the board we needed to prove ourselves—by building a strong reputation and becoming a respected global player.”
Sun pursued that vision with tireless dedication, packing her schedule with back-to back meetings and relentless travel. Hopping from a quarterly earnings call at the airport straight onto a cross continental flight to meet with investors was a normal day. She had no time for jet lag, often taking only a quick shower on arrival before a full day of meetings—and by evening, heading straight back to the airport to do it all again at her next destination.
That hard work paid off. Within a couple of years, Trip.com Group was high on the radar of most investors. Today, the company is worth around US$50 billion, with more than 40,000 employees worldwide. Its platforms connect travelers with more than 1.5 million hotels and over 600 airlines, serving customers worldwide in more than 30 languages.
Yet those numbers tell only part of the story. Sun is driven to create meaningful impact—across business, communities and society. From pioneering innovative programs to supporting education and community initiatives, she seeks to open doors for others and drive lasting change. And, as one of the few women at the helm of a technology company, she has championed inclusive leadership and policies that empower people to realize their potential.
Two decades on, Sun’s journey inspires leaders everywhere—and she’s just getting started.
Bridging Cultures, Driving Innovation
At the age of 19, Sun moved to the U.S. for undergraduate studies at the University of Florida, where she also began her career. Early international experiences shaped her global perspective—an outlook that would later guide her in building and leading an international business.
“My background allows me to bridge diverse cultures with a scientific management style,” Sun says. “It has given our team the tools to thrive in a global environment.”
Drawing on this perspective, Sun has shaped a management approach that combines rigor with passion. Under her leadership, Trip.com Group adopted Six Sigma and other data-driven management methodologies early, continuously invested in technology and fostered a culture where employees are encouraged to challenge ideas and innovate. Programs like “Baby Tiger” empower young employees to pitch entrepreneurial ideas, with funding to bring the best initiatives to life.
This combination has helped the company remain at the cutting edge of innovation and retain talent throughout major transitions— from offline to online, desktop to mobile, and now, with the advent of AI, from booking to discovery.
For Sun, innovation is not simply about keeping up with the latest technologies, it’s about delivering better experiences for customers. That approach has underpinned Trip.com Group’s investments from day one.
“When I joined the company, we were pioneering a centralized call center model while others were still opening retail stores on major streets,” Sun recalls. As booking online became the norm, Trip.com Group quickly became the trusted companion for millions of travelers, its ease of use complemented by industry-leading customer support. A few years later, the company was at the forefront of making the travel experience more accessible and intuitive, pioneering a “mobile-first” approach that put planning, booking and managing trips seamlessly into travelers’ hands.
Today, Sun is yet again pioneering a next generation travel experience, harnessing AI across the entire journey to inspire, excite and open new possibilities. Groundbreaking features like TripGenie, Trip.Best and the all-new Trip.Planner are transforming the way people explore the world—guiding travelers to create their perfect trip whether they already know where to go or need help discovering it. Trip.com Group is more than a booking platform—it’s redefining travel as a personalized journey of discovery.
Service as Strategy
While Sun has taken Trip.com Group to new heights, she has also steered the company through challenging times. From emergencies like natural disasters to economic instability and even the Covid-19 pandemic, her leadership has steadily guided the company, its customers and partners, anchored by a clear set of principles.
No matter the challenge, Sun relies on a simple formula: “Our philosophy is always to put the customer first, partners second and the company third,” she says.
No matter how well prepared, there are moments when external forces test even the best-laid plans. “There are two things beyond our control: God and government,” Sun recognizes, citing the pandemic as an example. “It was very challenging because, to prevent the spread of the disease, people had to be isolated, but the travel business is about bringing people together.”
It was in such moments, when circumstances were beyond their control, that these principles were critical. During the pandemic, borders closed, and millions of travelers demanded refunds. Many had prepaid for bookings, but Trip.com Group had already paid its partners, including airlines and hotels, as is standard in the industry. Guided by that commitment, and despite the overwhelming uncertainty, the company advanced billions, without hesitation, to ensure customers were refunded.
“It was a nerve-wracking time. One wrong move could have seriously impacted the company,” Sun says. “But we stood by our values. In moments like these, putting the customer first isn’t just a slogan—it’s what defines us.”
For its partners, Trip.com Group set up a partnership fund to alleviate cash flow challenges. It also pioneered innovative business models, like in-destination livestream commerce, to keep travelers engaged and generate income for partners. Those efforts have paid off, earning the company industry-leading customer satisfaction and a constantly expanding network of trusted partners worldwide.
Internal solidarity was just as important to weathering the storm. Sun and the Group’s Chairman, James Liang, immediately decided to forgo their salaries during the pandemic, while other members of the management team volunteered to take a 50% pay cut. At the same time, front-line employees demonstrated remarkable dedication, working tirelessly to support customers and partners. This collective commitment helped the company emerge stronger from its biggest challenge yet, while retaining top talent.
“After the pandemic, we were able to retain and attract the best talent in the industry and move the industry forward,” Sun says. “These achievements would not have been possible without the trust and confidence of our customers, partners and team—and I’m proud of what we accomplished together.”
Beyond Transactions: Building Connections
That commitment to customers and partners endures today. Trip.com Group upholds industry-leading service standards that build trust and long-term brand loyalty. Calls to its service center are answered within 30 seconds, and resolutions are typically provided within two minutes.
When the unexpected happens—whether it’s a missed flight or natural disaster—the company goes above and beyond to take care of its customers.
Sun recalls one incident where a customer arrived at a hotel only to find it had oversold its rooms. “We immediately booked him into a five-star property next door at no additional cost and processed a refund from the original four-star property right away,” she says. “The entire issue was resolved in one short conversation with our agent—that’s the kind of service that wins hearts.”
That trust and loyalty are clearly reflected in the way customers respond. When it offered a once-in-a-lifetime 80-day tour around the world, taking travelers from the rolling hills of eastern Ireland to the pyramids of Egypt and the splendor of the Taj Mahal in India, Trip.com Group famously sold out the package—priced at US$200,000 per person—in just 17 seconds.
“Customers trust our brand, our service and our products. That’s why we always strive to uphold the highest standards when serving them,” says Sun.
Leading for a Better World
Sun’s vision for Trip.com Group reaches far beyond the business itself, embracing its people and the wider communities it touches. The same values behind its growth guide its efforts to nurture talent, build a resilient ecosystem and give back to society, all in pursuit of a more inclusive and sustainable future.
She describes this mission through four “friendly” pillars: Community Friendly, Environmentally Friendly, Family Friendly and Stakeholder Friendly—a framework that guides how the company innovates, cares for its people and engages with the world.
Within Trip.com Group, Sun is focused on empowering employees to excel in both their professional and personal lives through pioneering family-friendly policies. Among those measures are a generous cash subsidy of around US$1,500 per year for new parents until their child turns five, three days of additional childcare leave for parents of children under 18 years old and a groundbreaking hybrid work policy.
These policies are designed to help all employees balance their professional ambitions with family life—with demonstrable returns for satisfaction and productivity. Sun takes this further with targeted measures to support women—who make up more than half of Trip.com Group’s staff, including one third of its senior leadership—and who face unique challenges in managing this balance.
“We are constantly thinking about how we can better support highly successful women in the workforce,” says Sun. She notes that many high-performing women complete their postgraduate degrees by age 27 or 28, often creating pressure to choose between building a career and starting a family. Support for egg-freezing is just one of many measures she’s introduced to alleviate those pressures. The results speak for themselves: last year, almost 100% of women returned to work after maternity leave.
Beyond the company, Sun recognizes that the resilience of the entire travel ecosystem is fundamental to long-term success—from partners and destinations to the communities that rely on tourism. Central to that ecosystem is the environment, which must be preserved so that people can continue to discover and enjoy all that the destinations of the world have to offer.
Under Sun, the company is spearheading efforts across the ecosystem and aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its own business by 2050. On its platforms, customers are empowered with access to and information about more sustainable options, making more conscious travel decisions easy and attractive.
Giving Back, Moving Forward
Sun sees travel as a force for good—a way to connect people and uplift communities. But her commitment goes beyond enabling exploration; it includes initiatives designed to deliver meaningful, lasting impact where it’s needed most.
In partnership with KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore, the Group launched the Trip.com Oncofertility Programme Fund—an initiative that supports fertility preservation for young women undergoing cancer treatment, offering them hope for starting families in the future. Sun explains, “We believe in supporting initiatives that create real and lasting impact in people’s lives. The challenges faced by women diagnosed with cancer are profound and, through the donation, we are committed to helping them preserve the opportunity to build a family.”
Trip.com Group has also partnered with various organizations to support programs that uplift children from low-income families. These initiatives include curated outings to attractions such as Christmas Wonderland during the festive season, Rainforest Wild Asia and the Singapore River Cruise, among others.
Employees also regularly volunteer with community programs, such as distributing care packs containing daily essentials to residents living in government-subsidized rental housing across Singapore.
Sun’s commitment to paying it forward was, to a large extent, shaped by her experiences as a student in the United States. During her time at the University of Florida, Law Professor Fletcher Baldwin and his wife, Dr. Nancy Baldwin, graciously offered her a place to stay and cared for her with exceptional kindness. Deeply moved by their generosity, Sun promised to one day repay them, vowing—in keeping with traditional Asian values of filial piety—to care for them in their old age. However, the Baldwins encouraged her instead to extend that goodwill by helping others in need. In 2016, Sun and her husband, John Wu, honored their legacy by donating US$3 million to the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law and Warrington College of Business.
“We firmly believe in the importance of paying it forward and supporting the less privileged members of the community. We want to do more to support women and children,” Sun says, “so that everyone can move forward together regardless of their background.”
Reimagining Travel, Inspiring the World
Sun is at a pivotal moment in her journey. Having rebounded strongly from the pandemic, global travel and tourism is surging—with international arrivals and tourism receipts reaching record highs, and with no signs of slowing down. Under her leadership, Trip.com Group is at the forefront of this growth.
In the second quarter of 2025, Trip.com, the Group’s international OTA platform, reported an increase in overall reservations of over 60% year-on-year. This growth reflects both the resilience of established markets and the potential of untapped opportunities across new regions and segments. In key markets, the Group’s outbound booking numbers exceeded 120% of pre-pandemic numbers and inbound travel bookings were up by over 100% year-on-year.
Sun attributes this strong performance to Trip.com Group’s unwavering commitment to providing the best experience to its customers.
Looking ahead, Sun sees a horizon full of opportunity. As travelers seek more personalized experiences, and emerging destinations draw new interest, she is reimagining the entire travel experience, innovating to deliver seamless, engaging and tailored journeys, crafting the perfect trip for every customer.
“The next five to 10 years hold enormous potential for the global travel market,” says Sun. “With our strong brand and innovative services, we are proud to lead the way in shaping the future of travel.”
For Sun, the pursuit of the perfect trip is part of a broader vision—one where travel connects people, bridges cultures and inspires a better world.
She is deeply conscious of how she can use her own position to make a difference, both within Trip.com Group and beyond. “I’m one of the very few female CEOs in high-tech, and I feel passionate about paving the way for other women,” she says. “Imagine if half of our global leaders reflected the diversity of the population. Perhaps we could approach the world’s challenges with greater empathy and peace. We’ve made progress—but the potential is far from realized.”
Guided by this vision, Sun sees Trip.com Group not just shaping the next generation of travel, but contributing to a future where exploration, opportunity and discovery come together to create lasting, positive change.
“The perfect trip—for every traveler, every journey and a better world. That’s what we’re building.”