Dr Shameen Prashantham is an Associate Professor of International Business & Strategy at CEIBS. He previously taught for over a decade at other institutions including Nottingham University Business School China and Glasgow University Business School. Prior to this, he undertook doctoral and post-doctoral research at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

His research focuses on new venture internationalization, and in particular on how internationalizing new ventures and large multinationals interface with each other, a phenomenon he refers to as “dancing with gorillas”. He has conducted case-study based research on these topics in a range of settings in both emerging and advanced economies that include Bangalore, Cambridge, Scotland, Silicon Valley, and Zhongguancun.

His work has been published in California Management Review, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies and MIT Sloan Management Review among others. He is also the author of two books, Born Globals, Networks and the Large Multinational Enterprise (Routledge, 2015) and The Internationalization of Small Firms (Routledge, 2008).

For Dr. Prashantham's publications, please visit:
https://hbr.org/2019/01/the-two-ways-for-startups-and-corporations-to-partner
https://hbr.org/2018/06/what-western-companies-need-to-know-about-partnering-with-startups-in-india-and-china

James Chou is the Managing Director and CEO of Microsoft for Startups North Asia, Chair of Technology and Innovation Committee of American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai. Within Microsoft, he leads the effort to scale up the business for some of the best and most innovative startups in China by providing unprecedented access to top Microsoft partners and customers, venture capitalists, and technical knowledge. Through the acceleration, he helped his portfolio companies raising hundred of million dollars and increased their valuation more than 300% in average in only 4 months to 10+ billion dollars. He is a frequent speaker on Innovation and China Startups, also an advisor to several VC funds, a mentor to several leading accelerators and incubators in China. He has more than 20 years experiences in TMT space in China and US. Before joining Microsoft, he was a serial entrepreneur and a venture investor. He has founded or co-founded three high tech companies in China. Previously, he served senior management positions at AsiaInfo and UTStarcom, the first 2 NASDAQ listed Chinese technology companies. Prior to that, He worked product management, sales, and engineering roles at Hewlett Packard and NEC in Silicon Valley for 7 years. James got his MBA from Santa Clara University.

Andy Lei is the director of strategy for E-commerce and Technology and Managing Director of Omega 8 for Walmart China. He leads the Walmart China omni-channel strategy development, strategical collaboration with key partners and special project incubation. He is also the managing director of Omega 8 by Walmart, it is a Walmart centric startup ecosystem for co-innovation.

Andy previously worked in Trustbridge Partners, one of the world’s leading growth capitals. He focused on investment and strategic partnership in elderly care and international education industry. Before Trustbridge, Andy was a startup founder in TMT spaces and project manager, initiating and managing different International projects at a U.S. based tech company.

He holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s of Sciences and Arts degree in Apply Mathematics and Entrepreneurship Management from Saint John’s University

Sophie Sun is currently Vice President, Head of Merck China Innovation Hub, and Head of Merck Strategy and Transformation China. In this role, she leads the corporate efforts of driving strategic planning and initiatives of innovation and digitalization for Merck in China. Sophie is a member of the global leadership team of Group Strategy & Transformation, and a member of China Country Council for Merck. She is also the Chair of China Digital Council for Merck.

Sophie joined Merck in 2009, and took different roles with increased responsibilities in the field of communications, sales, marketing, strategy and business development. Sophie worked in both strategic markets including China and US, and global function of GBF Oncology. She was a member of the China Senior Leadership Team of Merck Biopharma China before moving to the US in 2013, where she worked on the global launch of Merck’s first immuno-oncology drug, as Director Global Commercial Oncology among other roles.

Before joining Merck, Sophie worked as a consultant for over eight years in China and France, and served a broad portfolio of clients from different industries, including healthcare, technology, chemicals and finance with international marketing and communications groups, including IPG and WPP.

Sophie holds a MBA degree from MIT Sloan School of Management and a MA degree from Renmin University of China. Sophie translated and published two books in the psychology management area. She is a board member for MIT Alumni Club of Shanghai, and a member of Bayhelix Group. She is an active speaker on innovation, digitalization and female leadership, and mentor and jury member for several startup incubators, accelerators and other organizations or programs.