Sofia Theophilus is a multi-lingual global finance and business development professional with 17+ years of experience in US and Asia across diverse industries. Sofia is currently based in New York where she is responsible for expanding the cross-border and real estate financing platform for one of China’s largest banks, China Merchants Bank (CMB). Her real estate clients include some of the world’s largest corporations, including the largest construction company in the world and China’s largest logistics warehouse property developer. Prior to this, Sofia was based in Beijing and Shanghai, where she held several key management positions for ORIX Corporation and CVCapital. Sofia began her finance career in investment banking on Wall Street with Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, where she completed over $US 5billion in cross-border, structured finance investment transactions. Sofia holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from New York University – Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a graduate certificate in Global Management from Peking University. She is avid about traveling and giving back to her alma mater and the community. Sofia was the recipient of the NYU Stern School Service Award for significant contributions and service to the university and community as well as a guest speaker at the 13th annual Wharton China Business Forum. She is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.