The founder of South Beauty is Zhang Lan. Zhang Lan studied in Canada in her early years and entered the catering industry after returning to China from Canada in 1991. Ms. Zhang Lan has 17 years of experience in management and operation in the catering industry, and has extremely rich market experience and keen judgment in the catering industry. Her management style is characterized by steadiness, delicacy and boldness. Ms. Zhang founded the South Beauty brand of restaurants in 2000.

Zhang Lan is considered one of the first batch of "returnees" after the reform and opening up of China. After returning to China, Zhang Lan founded the high-end catering brand "South Beauty", which was a great success. According to the latest Hurun Report, her personal assets have reached 1.5 billion yuan, making her one of China's top three restaurant tycoons.

Ms. Zhang Lan has been awarded as one of China's Top Ten People of Finance and Intelligence in 2006, China's Top Ten Influential People in Catering, Top Ten Most Influential CEOs in China, Fashionable Woman of the Year in 2007, Oriental Entrepreneur's Outstanding People of 30 Years Contribution Award, LADY Magazine's Influential Elite People of China's Women's Lives of the Year in 2008, and VentureBeat Magazine's Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Women's Achievement Award in 2008.

In 2009, Ms. Zhang Lan made her debut on the Hurun Food & Beverage Rich List, ranking third and valuing her wealth at 2.5 billion yuan.

On June 13, 2011, Ms. Zhang Lan formally appointed her son, Wang Xiaofei, to the position of CEO of South Beauty, and took on the role of chairman of the board of directors of the company that she founded, WoLin Land, as part of her duties.