Snapshot of Xiang Junbo

The 53-year-old chairman of China's largest, farm-focused financial institution learned about rural lifestyles as a young man, when he was sent for a mandatory experience in the Chinese countryside.

Xiang Junbo later became an instructor for the People's Liberation Army and, in the 1980s, attended People's University. He also learned to write poetry, a skill that helped him compose a television screenplay that won him a national television award in 1999.

Switching careers, Xiang got a job as an official auditor, eventually rising through government financial agency ranks to become a deputy governor at the People's Bank of China. He left that post in 2007 to take his current position as president and chairman of Agricultural Bank of China.

Before joining ABC, Xiang typically kept a low profile and rarely granted interviews. One bank insider called him a workaholic who often spent weekends and nights on the job.

Now that ABC has completed an historic IPO, Xiang's status at home and abroad has soared. Investors worldwide know his name. And he's also more willing than ever to interact with the media.