Ms. Gao is a Managing Director in Ares Asia, where she focuses on credit. Prior to joining Ares in 2020, Ms. Gao was a Managing Director of the SSG Group and was instrumental in growing the firm's Asia business, including identifying opportunities, structuring investments and asset management. Previously, Ms. Gao was a Director in Proprietary Trading at CITIC Securities International, where she was responsible for investments in Greater China and the rest of Asia. Ms. Gao began her career as a Vice President at Clearwater Capital Partners in 2006, where she was responsible for researching opportunities, performing credit analysis and monitoring existing investments. Ms. Gao holds a B.A. from the University of International Business and Economics (Beijing) in International Finance and an M.A. from Brandeis University in International Finance.