Gao is ByteDance’s second Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since the company’s inception. She is currently based in Hong Kong and Singapore, assuming a pivotal role that had remained vacant following the company’s corporate restructuring the previous year.
A native of Shanghai, Gao earned her undergraduate degree in law from Peking University. She continued her academic journey in the United States, obtaining a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Alabama in 1991.
After graduation, she began her career as a legal assistant at a nonprofit legal aid organisation in Southern California, serving underprivileged communities in the Asia Pacific region. Encouraged by her supervisors who recognised her enthusiasm and capacity for more challenging work, Gao embarked on her legal education at the University of California, Los Angeles, earning a Juris Doctor degree three years later.
Between 1998 and 2004, she practiced law at the renowned global firm Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles. In 2009, Gao joined the multinational law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a partner.
During her tenure at Skadden, she achieved an impressive track record, providing counsel on capital markets transactions for more than 100 companies across various industries.
