Sophie YAO

Key Areas: Investment, Cloud Adoption, Strategic Partnerships, Customer Success

• Customer Success & Cloud Transformation: Led the AWS & Pegasus Joint Innovation International Incubator in Xi'an, enabling over 400 startups (including 35 international firms) to migrate to AWS and achieve operational efficiency. Provided tailored guidance, driving average revenue growth of 200% for incubated companies, totaling 200M RMB by 2023.
• Strategic Partnerships & Revenue Growth: Spearheaded investment initiatives in collaboration with AWS, Fortune 500 companies, and government entities in China, Hong Kong, and Australia. Developed GTM strategies, resulting in 300+ startups landing in target markets and increasing Pegasus’s footprint in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, with annual revenue growth of 140%.
• Cross-Border Relationship Building: Established long-term relationships with founders, executives, and VCs, driving customer success and AWS adoption. Frequent collaboration with teams across the US, Japan, and SEA to align strategic market entry plans.
• Team Leadership & Operational Oversight: Built and led a team of 6 directors and 24 staff in China, overseeing business development, marketing, partnership management, and government relations, achieving sustained success in customer engagement and satisfaction
• Connect the governments with global corporates, startups and investors, raising their competitiveness as a business destination
• Provided mentorship to startups, guiding 50+ early-stage companies to access funding and market opportunities globally
• Have invested in startups such as Affectiva, Osaro, Lark and Sensely
• Leading the operation team of AWS & Pegasus Joint Innovation International Incubator in Xi’an, incubating 400 startups over three years, including 35 international startups and 11 university spin-off startups
• Provided tailored guidance, helping 20+ startups to be recognized as national high-tech enterprises and 100+ startups to be certified to be the national innovative small business enterprise, and the total revenue of the incubated companies grew from 50 million RMB in 2019 to 200 million RMB in 2023
• Collaborated with teams across the US, Japan, and Indonesia, developing market entry strategies and leading cross-border investment initiatives
• Developed company’s new positioning and managed messaging, enhancing and redirecting company strategy annually to create efficiencies across departments, resulting in average revenue growth of 140% per year
• Led a team of 6 directors and 24 staffs in China, managing total operations including business development, deal-sourcing, marketing, partnerships, government relations, human resources, fund raising, budgets, and purchasing
• Built the Pegasus China team from the ground up, developed a unique value proposition, and designed the business model
• Established partnerships with Fortune 500 enterprises, and consulates such as AWS, Skoda, BMW, Tencent, Baidu, IBM, Mircosoft, Alibaba and etc
• Built 3 international incubators for startups in two cities in three years, incubating over 100+ international startups and 400+ local startups
• Designed program with enterprise partners to facilitate startups' proof-of-concept and other collaborations
• Led investment inside China and US
• Sourced up to 600+ startups per year, leading the China investment team in aligning with Pegasus HQ’s requirements
• Oversaw operations and provided corrective feedback to achieve daily and long-term goals.
• Strengthened client relationships with regular communication, timely project delivery, and high-quality services.

Key Areas: Channel Development, Sales Optimization, Partner Management, Customer Success

• Sales Channel Optimization: Designed and implemented streamlined sales software tool for Intel Box distributors that improved channel efficiency, reducing labor costs by 80% and increasing sales by 50%. This initiative enhanced distributor satisfaction and significantly boosted Intel’s market penetration across China.
• Partnership Development and Ecosystem Building: Successfully onboarded key ODM partners, including Asus and Gigabyte, to expand Intel’s ecosystem in China. By aligning their product strategies with Intel’s, I enhanced the channel sales process, reduced redundancies, and achieved higher sales volumes with greater partner engagement.
• Customer Success through Process Innovation: Created tailored solutions to simplify distribution channels, cutting manpower requirements by two-thirds while enhancing both channel and customer satisfaction. This customer-centered approach improved the adoption rate of Intel products, ensuring sustainable growth and long-term client loyalty.
• Revenue and Market Share Growth: Leveraged strategic sales tools and partnerships to drive consistent revenue growth and increase Intel’s market share. Successfully managed a network of distributors to maximize product reach and customer engagement across different territories in China.

Key Areas: Cloud Adoption (Azure), Partner Development, Strategic Marketing, Customer Success

• Developed and executed growth strategy for Azure, establishing it as leading cloud solution in China’s western region, securing nearly 30 new partners, and generating over 1,000 potential client connections within one year with an 20% ROI.
• Awarded Best Regional Employee Award in 2016 for significant contributions to Azure’s market share and partner ecosystem expansion.
• Created tailored go-to-market strategies, delivering training sessions and case studies that drove rapid cloud adoption and positioned Microsoft among top cloud providers in west region.
• Organized high-impact offline customer events, achieving highest ROI for marketing events in Greater China, and substantially increased customer engagement for Azure.
• Built and empowered strong partner ecosystem with latest cloud strategies and resources, enhancing partner satisfaction and fostering long-term customer relationships.
• Led digital campaigns for “Microsoft Biz Week,” tripling article views and boosting Azure’s brand visibility and digital engagement.

• Managed community activities for games like Heroes of Order and Chaos, Order and Chaos Online, Dungeon Hunter 5, and Ocean Odyssey
• Boosted community engagement, sales, and game ratings through strategic community management and feedback integration

• Experienced in product management, in charge of the Mobile Payment, Battery Management Systems (BMS), and LBS Social Networking programs
• Responsibilities included product planning, solution design, market analysis, and MRD writing