Ms. Mei Xu is a Chinese American entrepreneur, woman business leader, and the founder and CEO of Chesapeake Bay Candle and the Creator and CEO of Blissliving Home.

Established in 1994, Chesapeake Bay Candle is a leading, global manufacturer and marketer of decorative candles and home fragrance technologies. Known for their clean and modern aesthetic, nature-inspired fragrances, and innovative design, Chesapeake Bay Candles are sold through major U.S. retailers including Target, Kohl’s, and TJX Companies andenjoyed by millions of people around the globe. The company is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and employs more than 1,400 people worldwide, including more than 100 workers at its U.S. factory in Glen Burnie, Maryland, which Xu opened in 2011 to reshore American jobs. Blissliving Home is a premium lifestyle brand for high quality, globally inspired home textiles, linens and paints sold through upscale department stores including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus that was founded in 2007 and transitioned into a licensing business in 2014.

Xu has an inspirational personal story and journey to entrepreneurship. Born in Hangzhou, China in 1967, Xu came of age during China’s transformation to a more open, market-oriented economy following Chairman Mao’s death. At age 12, Xu was selected to attend a language immersion boarding schools set up by the Chinese Government to train diplomats for Foreign Service. She continued her education at Beijing Foreign Studies, but her goal of entering the diplomatic corps was never realized, as she, like all college graduates of 1989, the year of the Tiananmen Square Uprising, was sent for “re-education” to a work assignment in the countryside. After one year, in a bold and definite move, Xu quit to move to the U.S. to begin graduate school at the University of Maryland College Park. After completing her master’s degree, Xu moved to New York to work for a high-tech, medical company that exported equipment to China. Her “aha moment” happened as she is shopping one day in Bloomingdales and noticed the abundance of sophisticated, contemporary ready-to-wear apparel compared to the scarcity of modern, home décor offerings. Inspired, she returned to rejoin her husband in their home in Annapolis, near the Chesapeake Bay, and began her candle-making venture, using Campbell’s soup cans as molds. Her lucky mistake was forgetting to add a key ingredient to create the “normal” satin wax candle finish, but this omission led to Xu’s breakthrough and signature design – a unique, mottled texture.

She is frequently invited to speak at universities including the Wharton Business School, the Robert S. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and by business groups and government agencies. In 2012, she was invited by the White House to participate in the “Insourcing American Jobs” forum hosted by President Obama. Xu’s presentation topics and areas of expertise include: women’s business leadership, entrepreneurship, Made in America/re-shoring initiatives, minority-owned businesses, consumer lifestyle trends, the importance of a global education, and business development in China.

Xu’s business achievements have repeatedly been recognized by prominent organizations. She has been honored by, amongst others, the World Trade Center Institute with the Maryland International Business Leadership Award; the Asian American Chamber of Commerce with the Business Leader of the Year Award; the Asian Women in Business Organization with the Entrepreneurial Leadership Award; the Washington Business Journal with the Women Who Mean Business Award; the Maryland Daily Record with the Most Admired CEO Award;and the University of Maryland with the Philip Merrill College of Journalism Distinguished Alumnus Award. Xu was also inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame by Enterprising Women magazine.

Xu serves on the boards of many organizations and is active in the community. She is a member of the Committee of 200 (C200), an invitation-only organization of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. She is a board member of the World Affairs Council; a Fellow at the Aspen Institute; a member of the U.S. China Business Council; a delegate to Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit; and a supporter of Vital Voices’ Global Partnership, which empowers women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe.

Xu and her family lives in Bethesda, Maryland.