With a Master’s Degree in International Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Thomas Shao started his career in Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce in 2000. He served as the Chief English Interpreter for Mayor of Shanghai for 7 years before he was promoted to Assistant Director for Foreign Investment Promotion Department in 2007. In 2012, he joined Evonik Degussa China as Senior Manager for Public Policy. In 2014, he joined Abbott as the Associate GA Director. Now he is
GA Director of Abbott China, responsible for policy & strategy and crisis management as well as supporting manufacturing operations in China.

Carly Ramsey is based in Shanghai and leads the political and regulatory risk consulting for Greater China and North Asia. She has a decade of experience in China advising multinationals how to engage the Chinese government and mitigate political and regulatory risks.

Prior to joining Control Risks, Carly was an Associate Director with APCO Worldwide. She led the Greater China healthcare team to provide advisory, government relations, and corporate communications strategy and execution services to major multinationals, trade associations, and governments.

Carly’s comments on China’s political developments have appeared in major media outlets, including the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. She has a master’s degree in foreign policy and international security from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Western Ontario.

Zhixing Zhang is a Senior Analyst in Control Risks’ Global Risks Analysis team, based in Shanghai and responsible for delivering Control Risks’ analytical products and consulting in the areas of political, security and operational risks pertaining to China and Northeast Asia.

Prior to joining Control Risks, Zhixing worked as a Senior Analyst for Stratfor, a U.S-based geopolitical risk consultancy for 12 years, where she led Stratfor’s strategic analysis and forecast on China and Southeast Asia. Her areas of focus include China’s political development and foreign policy, Asia-Pacific maritime security, Vietnam’s political economy and insurgencies in Southeast Asia.

Zhixing’s comments on China and East Asian geopolitical issues have appeared in CNBC, Forbes, Financial Times and other international media outlets and publications. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Peking University, and two master’s degrees in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and Renmin University. Zhixing is fluent in Mandarin and English.