Sammy Gao was born and raised in mainland China, moving to the UK to study, and then pursued his career in the UK, Germany, France, and China. His international experience has equipped him with both Oriental and Occidental mindsets, as well as in-depth comprehension of different cultures. He holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE), and an MSc in Marketing and Creativity from the ESCP Business School in Paris.

Sammy has worked on marketing projects in the UK, China, and Germany for clients such as Fortnum and Mason, the German Wine Institute, and Metro Group. He also contributes to different magazines on topics including  travel, culture, and gastronomy. Sammy specialises in strategy planning and implementation, and capacity building, as well as cross-cultural communication and engagement.